Little  Gardens 


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Charles  •M'Skinner 


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Nnrtlj  fflarnltna  *tatF 


This  book  was  presented  by 

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6Apr  54)( 

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LITTLE   GARDENS 


A    CITY    BACK    YARD. 


NEAR    A    STATE    CAPITOL. 


LITTLE    GARDENS 

HOW  TO   BEAUTIFY   CITY  YARDS   AND 
SMALL   COUNTRY   SPACES 


BY 
CHARLES    M.   SKINNER 

AUTHOR   OF 
NATURE   IN   A   CITY  YARD,    FLOWERS   IN   THE   PAVE,    ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW    YORK 
D.    APPLETON   AND    COMPANY 

1904 


Copyright,  1904,  by 
D.   APPLETON  AND  COMPANY 


Puhlished  May,  190J, 


PREFACE 


There  are  many  books  on  gardening  for  the 
few  who  have  large  estates,  and  few,  if  any,  for 
the  many  who  have  small  ones.  This  volume  Is 
designed  for  the  uses  of  the  family  whose  lands 
are  a  house  lot.  It  Is  not  a  manual;  It  Is  not  a 
grammar  upon  the  science  or  subject  of  small 
gardens;  it  Is  a  series  of  hints  and  suggestions, 
which  may  be  unendingly  diversified.  The 
writer  has  drawn  upon  his  own  experience  for 
most  of  his  material,  and  on  his  Imagination  for 
his  plans,  but  he  has  taken  the  word  of  authori- 
ties on  some  matters  respecting  the  plants  to  be 
used,  since  It  Is  not  within  the  fortune  of  people 
who  cultivate  small  gardens  to  acquire  a  close 
acquaintance  with  all  the  flowers  that  can  be 
grown  between  the  thirtieth  and  the  forty-fifth 
parallel.  City  yards  are  usually  dusty,  weedy  and 
neglected,  the  theory  of  their  owners  being  that 
it  Is  not  worth  while   to  cultivate  patches  of 

88850 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

ground  so  small.  The  need  is  the  greater  be- 
cause of  their  smallness.  There  is  so  little  natu- 
ral beauty  in  the  town  that  we  can  not  afford  to 
neglect  the  chance  to  extend  it.  All  the  world 
smiles  in  the  fields,  and  w^e  have  only  to  go  to 
them  to  share  their  cheer;  but  the  smile  of  a 
flower  in  the  little  well  among  the  bricks  and  tim- 
ber, that  we  call  a  yard,  sheds  its  brightness 
where  it  is  needed  most. 


VI 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

I.  Making   Ready I 

II.  The   City  Yard       ......        24. 

III.  The  Country  Yard 81 

IV.  Color 113 

V.  Flowers   in  their  Season        .        .        ,        .123 

VI.  The  Choice  of  Flowers        .        .        .        .144 

VII.  The  Wild  Garden 205 

VIII.  Shrubs 213 

IX.  Water  in  the  Garden 226 

X.  Decorative   Material 235 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING 
PAGE 


A   City  Back  Yard      -v 

^  .  •  .  •   Frontispiece 

Near   a   State   Capitol  ) 

Results  in  a  Contracted  Domain 30 

A   Garden  and   Something  More          ....  64 

On   the   Outer  Edge  of  a   City 64 

Roses  in   Profusion 92 

A   Window  in   Ohio 126 

Shade   and   Bloom 158 

Beds  of  Lettuce 158 

A  Window-box  and  Ampelopsis  .        .         .        .188 

A   Pleasing  Vista 218 

Diagrams  of  Yards,  on  pages  28,  32,  41,  43,  50,  51,  53, 
57,  59»  61,  65,  66,  6j,  68,  70,  71,  jj,  78,  loi, 
102,  104,  105,  108,  109,  115,  214,  231,  238. 


LITTLE     GARDENS 


MAKING    READY 


Men  are  becoming  so  notoriously  addicted 
to  their  own  society  that  they  miss  a  good  many 
Improving  and  pleasant  companionships.  They 
are  forgetting  what  soil  looks  like,  in  the  cities. 
Think  of  it!  In  Manhattan  only  a  hundred 
homes  or  so  are  built  in  a  year,  and  the  number 
grows  less  and  less,  while  tenements  multiply  by 
thousands.  For  the  millions  there  is  no  ground: 
only  asphalt  and  flagstones;  and  miles  and  miles 
of  thoroughfare  have  not  the  shade  or  color  re- 
lief of  a  tree.  Some  pathetic  show  of  the  primi- 
tive need  and  lingering  instinct  for  good  green 
earth  is  made  in  the  window-box  that  we  may 
see  on  the  sill  of  a  fourth-floor  front,  or  In  a 
geranium  striving  out  of  a  tin  can  on  the  fifth- 
floor  back.     Nay,  in  summer  I  can  show  you 

I 

t3,   H.   H\LL  LIBRARY 

North  Carolina  State  Coiiege 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

where  tomatoes  are  growing  In  soap  boxes,  on 
the  fire-escapes:  but  this  Is  where  Italians  inhabit, 
and  they  are  thrifty. 

Notwithstanding  these  hardships,  the  predic- 
tion of  the  scientists  that  In  the  year  2000  every- 
body will  hve  In  New  York,  and  the  last  morsel 
of  Its  soil  will  disappear  under  a  load  of  masonry, 
is  destined  not  to  be  fulfilled.  A  few  positive 
atoms  will  continue  to  escape  the  magnetism  of 
the  metropolis  and  try  to  bear  with  life  as  It  may 
have  to  be  lived  In  suburbs  like  Philadelphia, 
Boston,  Minneapolis  and  Hohokus,  where,  at 
this  writing,  it  is  still  the  fashion  to  occupy  a 
house,  and  to  have  a  yard.  Much  virtue  in 
yards.  It  is  for  the  moral  and  mental  sanity, 
no  less  than  for  the  bodily  well-being  of  the  citi- 
zen, that  he  shall  go  to  the  earth,  now  and  fre- 
quently, to  renew  liking  and  confirm  kinship 
with  other  and  more  delicate  forms  of  life  than 
his  own.  He  may  be  slow  to  read  the  lessons 
that  are  published  In  the  leaf  and  flower,  and 
may  not  want  to  read  them  after  he  knows  they 
are  there;  but  In  occupations  under  the  sky  he  Is 
taken  away  from  a  hundred  artificial  distresses 
that  beset  him  under  the  celling;  for  happiness 

2 


MAKING     READY 

Is  largely  dependent  on  the  physical  state,  and 
that  is  never  at  the  best  in  the  shop,  the  office,  or 
the  drawing-room.  It  is,  then,  worth  while  to 
have  a  yard,  and  use  it,  if  only  to  forget  stocks 
and  crimes  and  bills  and  government.  If  the 
victim  is  disposed  to  tempers,  he  can  wreak  them 
on  the  weeds,  the  time  never  having  been,  nor 
destined  to  be,  when  his  yard  will  be  free  from 
these  vegetable  upstarts.  And  the  cleaner  he  can 
keep  it  from  these  intruders,  the  more  ample 
his  self-complacency,  and  the  more  his  enjoy- 
ment of  its  acquired  and  natural  scenery. 

And  one  can  do  a  surprising  deal  with  his 
yard  if  he  will  tend  it  with  affection  and  humility. 
Why,  if  it  came  to  a  tussle  with  hard  fortune  he 
could  partly  outwit  adversity  by  selling  his  flow- 
ers and  raising  vegetables.  Don't  cry  out  upon 
me.  If  you  have  ever  farmed  one,  you  know 
that  I  speak  within  bounds  when  I  say  that  out 
of  an  ordinary  city  yard  you  could  grow  enough 
to  keep  a  family  for  a  month.  The  family  might 
complain  a  little,  and  would  probably  desire 
to  exchange  some  of  the  crop  for  eggs,  dairy- 
products  or  champagne,  yet  there  would  be  va- 
riety.    You  should  have  asparagus,  lettuce,  cel- 

3 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

ery,  tomatoes,  corn,  beets,  peas,  beans;  for  a 
warm  day,  a  cucumber;  for  a  cold  one,  a  pepper; 
and  quite  likely,  a  few  berries,  with  such  dande- 
lions as  grew  wild  in  the  interstices  of  your  yard 
for  greens. 

Again  you  say,  Preposterous!  No,  for  I 
can  lead  you  to  a  yard  behind  an  old  house  in 
the  city  that  is  occupied  by  a  mechanic,  and  I 
can  show  his  farm  in  operation.  He  will  be 
glad  to  have  you  look  at  it,  for  it  is  a  source  of 
pride  with  him.  He  works  in  a  shipyard,  where 
they  are  raising  only  hob,  at  present,  and  he  has 
only  his  evenings  and  early  mornings  for  farm- 
ing, yet  not  only  has  he  all  the  green  stuff  he 
requires  in  the  season,  but  he  has  some  to  give 
to  the  neighbors,  and  I  testify  to  the  excellence 
of  his  lettuce  and  his  celery.  His  domain  is  some- 
thing like  fifty  feet  by  twenty-five.  But,  then,  he 
cultivates  it  like  a  Chinaman,  and  every  foot  of 
It  is  a  possibility. 

Which  brings  me  to  say  that  when  you  own 
a  yard  you  need  not  devote  It  to  cabbage,  unless 
you  are  pinched  by  want  and  addicted  to  corned 
beef.  On  the  contrary,  you  can  make  that  yard 
a  spot  of  such  charm  that  the  neighbors'  boys 

4 


MAKING     READY 

will  continually  beset  it,  to  gather  of  its  opulence, 
and  lovelorn  cats  will  sing  o'  nights  in  its  shrub- 
beries, secure  from  observation  and  projectiles. 
And  when  I  speak  of  yards  I  have  in  mind,  not 
the  spacious  lawns  and  gardens  of  the  country, 
but  the  strip  behind  the  city  house  that  is  given 
over,  on  wash-day,  for  the  sunning  of  the  family 
linen,  with  the  revelations  of  anatomy  and  thrift 
that  pertain  to  that  necessity.    The  yard  in  town 
is  deplorably  small,  I  admit,  and  grows  smaller, 
for  the  canny  builder,  who  used  to  apportion  a 
house  to  every  lot,  has  fallen  into  a  habit  of  put- 
ting three  houses  on  two  lots,  and  there  are  rooms 
where  a  man  does  not  carelessly  stretch  himself 
without  peeling  his  knuckles  against  the  wains- 
cot on  either  side  of  him.     As  a  distinguished 
observer  has  observed,  you  can  always  tell  a  Har- 
lem dog  from  one  brought  up  in  Brooklyn,  be- 
cause the  Brooklyn  dog  wags  his  tail  from  side 
to  side,  while  the  Harlem  dog,  bred  to  the  re- 
straints of  flats,  wags  his  up  and  down. 

We  will  take  the  Brooklyn,  rather  than  the 
Harlem  measure  for  the  human  habitation,  and 
consider,  briefly,  what  may  be  done  with  its 
pleasance.     Let  us,    then,    suppose    a   space   of 

5 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

ground  in  the  usual  row,  divided  from  tlie  other 
spaces  by  a  board  fence  six  feet  high,  overlooked 
by  hundreds  of  windows  in  the  row  of  which 
your  house  is  part,  and  in  the  other  row,  on  the 
next  street.  If  there  are  breaks  in  the  enclosing 
wall  of  residences,  that  let  your  eye  escape  to- 
ward fair  or  misty  horizons,  so  much  the  better 
for  you,  and  so  much  the  more  likely  that  a  spec- 
ulator will  fill  them,  presently,  with  taller  and 
more  obstructive  mansions.  Your  yard  measures, 
say,  twenty-five  feet  by  sixty  feet,  and  in  that 
space  we  can  not  look  for  much  variety  of  soil 
or  climate,  although  a  yard  of  less  than  that  di- 
mension, that  I  cultivated  for  a  while,  had  the 
most  various  soil  that  I  ever  worked  in.  It  was 
a  joy  to  the  archaeologist,  for  it  contained  hoop- 
skirts,  false  teeth,  bird-cages,  bones,  rocks,  tin- 
ware, indeed,  I  hoped  to  reach  mastodons,  but 
I  came  no  nearer  to  that  discovery  than  to  up- 
turn a  pet  turtle  who  had  buried  himself  in  a  bed 
of  cannas,  and  had  overlooked  his  customary 
day  for  resurrection  in  the  spring. 

And  so  long  as  variety  in  topography  and 
natural  products  is  denied  to  your  yard,  I  would 
take  the  hint:  conform  to  circumstances  and  try 

6 


MAKING     READY 

not  to  make  It  too  excitingly  variegated.  Don't 
attempt  an  Italian  garden  on  twenty-five  feet  by 
sixty.  Don't  build  terraces,  or  flights  of  steps, 
unless  the  land  slopes,  or  plant  all  the  different 
things  that  the  seedsmen's  catalogues  offer. 
Keep  to  a  simple  scheme.  Indeed,  It  Is  a  mighty 
pleasant  yard  that  has  just  grass  In  the  middle, 
and  roses  all  around.  The  trouble  Is  that 
roses  will  not  bloom  forever;  and  again,  most 
folks  do  want  a  little  versatility  In  their  crops. 
And  all  the  same,  I  grow  more  and  more  to  be- 
lieve In  a  certain  amount  of  formality  In  a  gar- 
den. Proper  division  of  the  space  at  your  dis- 
posal gives  the  best  results,  because  you  practise 
economy.  The  wild  garden  Is  a  joy  when  there  Is 
enough  of  It;  but  a  back  yard  left  to  whatever 
happens  to  grow  there  Is  unsightly,  and  If  you 
throw  about  a  quantity  of  seed  of  wild  flowers, 
and  let  them  come  up  without  tending,  the  result 
Is  not  much  better.  There  will  be  no  color  har- 
mony In  your  arrangement,  for  there  can  be  no 
arrangement,  and  the  plants  will  choke  one  an- 
other. We  may  enjoy  wild  life,  but  we  do  not 
declvllize  our  homes  for  that  reason.  We  would 
not  fill  our  parlors  with  the  lumber  of  the  woods, 

7 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

precious  as  It  might  be  to  us  In  the  camp,  or  even 
the  country  cottage.  The  garden  is  a  part  of  the 
house,  and  a  part  of  us. 

Let  us,  then,  agree  that  we  can  not  represent 
all  outdoors  In  the  oblong  behind  our  house; 
hence,  we  will  lay  it  off  In  a  way  to  please  the  eye 
and  nose  and  understanding.  We  have,  of 
course,  to  consider  sun  and  shade.  If  the  house 
is  on  the  north  side  of  the  street,  the  yard  will 
be  more  constantly  in  shadow  than  if  it  were  on 
the  south  side.  (I  am  humbly  supposing  that 
this  Work  is  not  circulating  In  the  southern  hemi- 
sphere.) The  shadow  cast  by  the  house  may 
spread  half  across  the  yard;  hence,  the  flowers 
that  like  the  sun  will  not  do  their  best  close 
to  the  building,  but  will  ask  to  be  bedded  as  far 
from  it  as  possible;  yet  this  does  not  mean  that 
you  are  doomed  to  have  no  vegetation  near  the 
house.  Why,  it  would  be  worth  while  merely 
to  raise  ferns  and  moss. 

If  yours  Is  the  usual  city  yard,  and  not  shaded 
by  monster  hotels,  flats,  factories  or  shops,  it 
should  have  the  sun,  however,  in  the  summer, 
when  you  need  It  least  and  your  plants  need  It 
most.     And  a  plant  that  can  have,  say,  five  or 


MAKING     READY 

six  hours  of  bright  sunHght,  has  nearly  all  It 
needs  for  health.  It  must  have  a  good  soil,  and 
If  your  garden-to-be  Is  caked  over,  you  must 
spade  It  up.  Many  yards  In  town  have  a  hard 
and  leathery  surface,  like  that  of  the  plains  In 
the  days  of  the  overland  trail.  The  plains  had 
been  crusted  by  the  beating  feet  of  buffalo.  They 
were  almost  as  If  asphalted,  and  no  vegetable  life 
appeared  there  except  sage  and  cactus,  with  grass 
and  cottonwoods  only  In  the  river-bottoms. 
When  these  desert  lands  were  broken  by  the 
plow  they  proved  to  be  rich  In  phosphates.  It 
may  be  that  the  like  will  happen  In  your  yard. 
But  It  was  no  buffalo  that  pounded  your  soil  Into 
the  semblance  of  clay:  it  was  wilder  and  more 
fearsome  beings — the  boys  next  door,  and  Mary 
Ann.  We  have  to  consider  these  dynamic  forces 
in  devising  our  garden,  but  we  have  first  to  spade 
and  fertilize,  cut  the  sod  to  pieces,  throw  out  the 
stones  and  tomato  cans,  prepare  strings  or  trel- 
lises for  vines,  and  plan  the  beds.  Drainage,  too, 
and  prevailing  temperatures  must  be  thought 
upon.  By  drainage  is  meant  such  as  results 
from  the  porousness  or  heaviness  of  the  ground, 
and  the  natural  slope  of  It.    You  can  not  do  much 

9 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

in  respect  of  artificial  drainage  in  a  yard,  because 
it  is  just  like  the  folks  next  door  to  complain,  if 
you  pipe  your  rain  and  melted  snow  into  their 
premises.  Nor  is  it  usually  so  wet  in  the  East 
as  to  require  the  services  of  an  engineer  in  lay- 
ing out  a  yard.  So  long  as  rain-water  or  thawed 
ice  do  not  lie  in  pools  on  the  surface,  there  is  no 
occasion  to  trouble  yourself  about  this  matter. 
If  your  yard  has  a  solid  rock  foundation  at  a 
depth  of  only  a  few  feet,  or  if  it  is  stiff  and 
clayey  and  sheds  moisture,  then  it  will  probably 
be  necessary  to  have  in  an  expert.  Your  veg- 
etable is  a  thirsty  creature,  and  commonly  your 
yard  will  not  only  drink  all  that  the  heavens  pro- 
vide, but  will  ask  an  occasional  showering  at 
your  hands,  but  this  supposes  that  it  is  growing  in 
a  light  and  fertile  soil;  not  in  one  that  is  covered 
by  stagnant  puddles  for  days  after  a  shower. 
Beware  of  these  puddles.  Mosquitoes  breed  in 
them,  and  mosquitoes  carry  malaria.  If  the  soil 
is  stiff  it  is  easily  possible  to  give  a  wee  slant  to 
the  surface  of  the  yard,  trenching  it  slightly  at 
the  center,  or  at  one  side,  or  toward  a  far  corner, 
and  where  the  water  is  deepest  to  install  a  con- 
nection with  the  drainage  system  of  the  house, 

10 


MAKING     READY 

or  with  the  sewer,  direct.   Indeed,  modern  build- 
ers provide  this,  and  you  will  doubtless  find,  in  a 
hollow,  somewhere  about  the  premises,  the  head 
of  an  iron  pipe,  grated  or  colandered,  to  pre- 
vent the  escape  through  it  of  stones,  leaves  and 
grass.    Keep  this  free  at  all  times,  unless  you  find 
that  your  plants  appropriate  and  need  all  the 
moisture  they  can  get,  for  in  that  case,  the  less 
of  the  precious  water  that  flows  away,  the  better. 
And  while  upon  this  subject,  let  me  urge  you 
not  to  neglect  the  watering  of  your  floral  charges. 
Have  a  hose,  or  at  least,  a  watering-can,  against 
the  droughts  so  usual  to  our  summers,  and  re- 
fresh your  garden  in  early  morning  or  at  evening. 
Nature's  method  is  not  to  wet  the  earth  when  the 
sun  shines.     To  that  end,  it  overspreads  us  with 
clouds  when  it  rains.     I  do  not  actually  know 
that   watering   in   full   daylight   hurts   a   plant, 
though  florists  assure  me  that  it  does,  but  it  is 
best  to  do  the  sprinkling  toward  dusk,  for  the 
reason  that  it  is  most  economical  to  do  so,  the 
evaporation  being  less,  and  the  plant  getting  the 
whole  benefit  of  the  ducking.      It  is  better  to 
water  the  yard  once  a  week,  and  give  a  thorough 
drenching  to  it  than  to  dribble  a  few  quarts  over 


II 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

the  plants  every  ev^ening.  Gardeners  all  deplore 
light  watering,  and  it  has  this  disadvantage  :  that 
it  does  not  give  to  a  plant  what  it  wants,  any 
more  than  a  spoonful  of  drink  slakes  thirst;  that 
under  a  merely  superficial  moistening  the  roots 
that  should  strike  deep,  in  search  of  moisture, 
thereby  holding  the  plant  firmly  in  its  place  and 
giving  it  lease  of  life  through  the  winter,  may 
turn  to  the  surface,  and  thus  give  but  a  shallow 
foothold.  So  we  must  regard  our  plants  as  reg- 
ular topers,  whatever  their  simplicity  of  coun- 
tenance. But  I  have  found  that  a  hasty  trip 
about  one's  yard  in  town  with  a  watering-can, 
if  not  a  rapid  turn  with  the  hose,  is  good  prac- 
tise, for  the  reason  that  a  city  is  a  dusty  place 
and  the  object  of  the  sprinkle  is  not  to  give  drink, 
but  to  wash  the  plants  free  from  dust,  that  they 
may  breathe  the  better.  There  is  something 
pitiful,  something  wrong,  in  the  aspect  of  a  rose 
or  lily  powdered  with  grit  or  fragments  or  street 
droppings,  and  something  unseemly  in  the  cover- 
ing of  bushes  with  fragments  of  straw  and  spots 
of  dirt.  The  retention  of  heat  by  the  enormous 
spaces  of  brick  and  stone  in  a  city,  and  the  giv- 
ing off  of  that  heat  through  the  night  is  inimical 

12 


MAKING     READY 

to  the  "  falling  "  of  the  dew  that  so  cleanses  and 
refreshes  vegetation  In  the  country.  Dew  Is 
merely  the  condensation  of  moisture  In  the  air, 
and  Is  caused  by  contact  of  the  air  with  the 
cooled  surfaces  of  the  earth.  As  the  dew  Is  less 
in  town,  the  evening  sprinkle  takes  the  place  of 
It.  But  while  watering  should  be  copious  once 
or  twice  a  week,  It  must  not  be  overdone.  In 
a  wet  "  spell  "  It  Is  not  necessary  at  all.  If  our 
plants  exceed  In  food  and  drink,  they  will  grow 
fat  and  not  fine;  that  is,  they  will  run  to  stem 
and  leaf,  and  their  blossoms  will  be  few,  or 
atrophied.  What's  that?  They  are  like  some 
human  beings,  then? 

In  his  hunger  for  the  soil,  that  develops  when 
a  man — or  his  wife — acquires  a  bit  of  yard,  there 
is  a  tendency  to  demand  more  of  It  than  It  can 
give;  to  be  overgood  to  It,  expecting  Impossible 
returns;  to  spoil  It,  as  we  do  some  children.  It 
Is  a  real  delight  to  play  the  hose  over  our  garden 
at  sunset  and  see  It  brighten  under  the  mimic 
rain.  How  fresh  and  fair  It  looks,  when  we 
have  done  !  Yet  It  can  be  harmed  with  too  much 
drink.  Plants  that  are  too  much  coddled  grow 
dim  and  weak  when  the  coddling  Is  foregone  for 
13 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

a  while.  One  other  item :  Go  over  the  ground 
with  a  rake,  or  a  hoe,  if  it  shows  a  tendency  to 
harden  and  pack  down,  so  that  the  water  may 
reach  the  roots;  even  a  spading  or  troweling  may 
be  necessary  in  resistant  soils;  but  be  careful  not 
to  cut  the  rootlets  and  not  to  heavily  jar  the 
plant,  for  that  may  shake  off  its  flowers,  or  dis- 
place it,  or  at  least  break  some  of  its  stems  or 
branches. 

But  we  are  getting  a  little  ahead  of  our 
plants.  We  haven't  them,  yet.  Our  first  work 
is  to  loosen  the  soil,  and  as  you  will  have  trouble 
in  getting  a  horse  and  plow  through  the  base- 
ment, the  work  will  require  to  be  done  with  a 
spade.  By  a  fair  output  of  profanity  and  in- 
dustry, men  have  been  able  to  spade  up  a  yard 
in  a  day,  and  even  to  do  a  little  work,  between 
whiles.  If  you  move  in  during  the  late  summer 
you  can  not  do  much  toward  the  improvement  of 
your  premises.  Buy  some  showy  things  from  the 
florist,  set  them  out  and  let  it  go  at  that.  Let 
the  youngsters  rollick  over  the  ground.  Heaven 
knows  they  have  little  enough  of  play  space  in 
the  city!  If  you  have  children  of  the  playful 
age,  forego  the  garden,  and  occupy  the  yard 
14 


MAKING     READY 

with  toys,  swings,  seesaws,  and  sand-heaps.  If 
a  garden  Is  possible,  however,  prepare  for  It  In 
the  fall,  with  a  spading,  taking  dry  weather  for 
the  digging,  and  pulling  out  all  the  big  and 
troublesome  weeds  before  they  go  to  seed.  Be 
sure  to  do  this  work  while  the  ground  Is  dry: 
otherwise  the  soil  can  not  be  easily  loosened  up, 
and  the  weeds  that  you  overturn  will  be  less  apt 
to  strike  their  roots  back  Into  the  earth  than  If 
they  and  the  earth  were  wet.  This  rule  holds 
in  plowing  and  harrowing,  where  they  are  prac- 
tical, quite  as  well  as  In  spading.  After  the  soil 
has  been  turned  over,  It  Is  to  be  raked  level,  lawn 
grass-seed  Is  to  be  sprinkled  over  it,  and  It  is 
then  to  be  rolled — you  can  hire  the  rolling  and 
need  not  buy  the  machine  to  do  It  with — after 
which,  the  flower-beds  are  to  be  laid  off  in  the 
spaces  not  assigned  to  grass;  trees  and  shrubs, 
if  any,  are  to  be  planted,  and  a  little  later,  bulbs 
are  to  be  set  out  for  spring  flowering. 

As  the  chances  are  that  the  yard  has  been 
putting  up  vegetation,  in  the  form  of  grass  and 
weeds,  for  several  thousand  years  without  much 
encouragement  to  continue  In  the  work,  it  be- 
hooves the  thoughtful  house  owner  to  feed  it 
15 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

with  manures.  He  can,  if  he  must,  wait  till  the 
snow  is  about  to  fall,  so  that  the  sight  and  odor 
shall  be  quieted  beneath  the  white  of  winter;  yet 
it  is  better  to  be  brave  and  endure.  You  can  use 
phosphates,  guano,  poudrette,  bone-dust  and 
higher-sounding  things  than  these,  but  there  is 
nothing  better  than  hennery  and  stable  manure. 
Never  use  it  fresh,  for  the  ammonia  is  then  over- 
powering, and  will  burn  your  plants,  and  put 
you  out  of  favor  with  the  family  next  door.  It 
must  be  old  and  well  rotted  in  the  compost  heap. 
The  manure,  of  whatever  kind,  is  to  be  stirred 
into  the  ground  on  a  second  spading  or  raking. 
If  plants  or  trees  are  standing  in  the  yard  during 
this  process  no  harm  is  likely  to  come  to  them 
from  stable  manure,  but  the  chemical  fertilizers 
are  sometimes  so  sharp  that  moderation  must  be 
used  in  applying  them,  and  it  is  well  not  to  have 
them  touch  the  roots  of  the  plants.  If  the  yard 
is  so  large,  and  so  open  to  the  street  as  to  admit 
of  plowing,  the  manure  may  be  strewn  over  its 
surface  after  that  operation,  and  then  harrowed 
or  raked  in.  Odorless  manures  are  much  in 
favor  for  city  use,  but  for  actual  value  they  will 
never  replace  the  stable  sweepings  and  decayed 

i6 


MAKING     READY 

leaf-mold  from  the  woods.  They  are  expensive, 
too,  and  they  are  sometimes  adulterated  with 
sand  and  plaster.  As  to  special  enrichments,  for 
certain  plants,  I  opine  that  there  is  much  non- 
sense in  that  notion,  and  that  the  common  ma- 
nures are  good  enough  for  all  the  plants  that 
grow.  During  the  winter  the  roots  will  be  ab- 
sorbing food,  and  should  show  vigor  in  the 
spring,  but  if  the  soil  is  poor,  if  there  is  a  time 
of  darkness  and  sour  weather,  or  if  any  disease 
of  malnutrition  takes  hold  on  the  roses  and  lilies, 
let  them  have  a  trifle  of  stimulant:  a  few  drops 
of  ammonia  to  a  pail  of  water.  Indeed,  it  is  well 
to  give  a  little  of  this  at  intervals,  say,  once  a 
month,  through  the  green  season. 

Your  farm  can  be  worked  with  very  little 
machinery.  You  will  need  a  hose,  with  a  reel 
to  wind  it  on,  a  rotary  nozzle  for  spraying  the 
grass,  and  the  usual  tip,  which  throws  a  fine  mist 
or  a  strong  stream,  according  as  you  adjust  the 
cock.  You  will  require  a  lawn-mower,  which  the 
comic  papers  assure  us  is  held  in  abhorrence  by 
male  suburbanites,  and  not  always  without  rea- 
son, for  the  woman,  in  a  cool  and  gauzy  dress 
who  sits  on  the  veranda  while  the  slave  of  the 

17 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

lawn  trundles  about  his  Sisyphus  burden,  little 
realizes  that  by  transforming  the  energy  needed 
In  "  shaving  the  whiskers  off  the  earth,"  as  one 
victim  described  it,  the  defendant  could  get  him- 
self elected  to  a  first-rate  club  or  a  second-rate 
board  of  aldermen — in  neither  of  which  positions 
does  she  wish  to  find  him.  I  pushed  a  machine 
over  a  lawn  In  the  country  one  morning,  and  was 
displeased  to  find  that,  hurry  as  I  might,  I  could 
not  finish  before  breakfast.  I  remarked  that  it 
was  not  a  big  lawn  to  look  at,  but  it  seemed  to 
take  a  long  time  to  get  around  it.  "  I've  made 
a  rough  calculation  of  the  distance  it  Is  around 
the  lawn-mower  course,"  observed  the  man  who 
had  not  guided  the  implement  that  day,  "  and  I 
find  It  is  about  five  miles."  Therefore,  oh, 
dames,  be  tender  of  the  suburbanite,  for  the 
comic  papers  are  not.  He  has  sorrows  of  which 
you  little  dream.  But  insist  on  his  mowing  the 
yard  once  in  a  week,  at  any  rate.  You  are  also 
to  provide  him  with  a  spade,  a  trowel,  a  sickle,  a 
rake,  a  hoe,  a  pair  of  garden  shears,  a  sprayer 
for  insect  poisons  and  a  dibble.  Perhaps  you 
do  not  know  the  dibble,  and  it  sounds  so  like  a 
divvle  that  you  may  think  it  is  something  wicked, 


MAKING     READY 

but  it  Is  merely  a  pointed  stick  which  you  jab  into 
the  earth — that  is,  the  husband  does — and  ro- 
tates, describing  a  widening  circle  with  Its  handle, 
while  the  tip  remains  fast.  This  digs  a  pit  In  the 
shape  of  an  Inverted  cone,  and  digs  it  in  two  or 
three  seconds,  hence  the  dibble  is  useful  in  plant- 
ing and  transplanting  and  in  preparing  places 
for  sweet  peas,  flowering  beans,  and  the  like. 
An  old  shovel  handle,  cut  off  eight  or  ten  Inches 
below  the  grip,  and  sharpened,  makes  the  best 
dibble.  You  can  have  it  tipped  with  iron  by 
the  blacksmith. 

Most  of  the  hay-crop  In  the  yard  will  be  gath- 
ered by  the  lawn-mower,  but  you  will  need  the 
sickle  and  shears  for  trimming  corners,  borders 
and  clumps  of  grass  that  spring  up  about  the 
roots  of  trees  and  bushes.  If  the  grass  Is  suf- 
fered to  grow  long  it  will  make  troublesome 
snarls  about  the  cogs  and  roller  of  the  machine, 
which  will  tear  It  up  by  the  roots,  but,  what  Is 
worse,  your  turf  will  be  dry,  harsh,  stemmy  and 
ragged,  unless  It  is  kept  down;  weeds,  too,  will 
gain  a  hold,  sow  themselves,  and  increase.  By 
frequent  cutting,  the  grass  Is  kept  tender,  green 
and  thick,  because  room  is  made  for  the  young 
19 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

shoots,  and  It  Is  prevented  from  going  to  seed. 
Be  careful  of  your  grass.  It  Is  the  surest  and 
handsomest  crop  your  garden  will  yield.  Flow- 
ers last  for  a  little  and  are  gone;  leaves  unfold, 
flourish,  wither  and  fall,  but  grass  smiles  up  at 
the  first  breath  of  spring;  It  often  lasts  until  the 
beginning  of  December,  and  when  comes  a  Janu- 
ary thaw  there  It  Is,  a  trifle  faded,  yet  still  green, 
assuring  us  that  winter  Is  not  the  seal  of  death, 
but  only  a  mask  of  life.  Bright  color  has  Its 
cheer,  and  we  plan  our  garden  for  It,  but  we 
prize  It  as  an  accent  rather  than  a  constancy. 
The  blue  of  the  sky  and  sea,  and  the  green  of 
the  earth,  are  a  delight  forever. 

There  Is  another  than  esthetic  reason  for 
giving  a  part  of  the  yard  to  grass ;  namely,  Mary 
Ann.  It  may  be  that  Mary  Ann  has  the  same 
delight  In  art  and  nature  that  other  people  ought 
to  have,  and  often  don't,  but  surely  no  other  peo- 
ple can  smash  as  many  porcelains  indoors  and  so 
many  blossoms  outdoors.  In  any  given  time.  I 
have  seen  a  garden  after  a  single  promenade  of 
this  virgin,  once  out  and  back,  that  reminded  me 
of  a  Kansas  farm  after  a  cyclone.  You  would 
have  said  that  nobody  could  do  the  things  she 
20 


MAKING     READY 

did  whose  feet  were  smaller  than  dining-tables, 
and  whose  knees  were  unarmed  with  scythes,  like 
those  attached  to  the  wheels  of  the  Greek  battle 
chariots.  Yet  she  came  back  into  the  house 
chortling  a  comeallyez  and  serenely  unconscious 
of  injury.  If  Mary  Ann  has  grass  to  roll  her 
feet  upon  she  may  be  willing  to  let  the  flowers 
alone,  or  at  least,  to  maim,  behead  and  uproot 
only  those  that  are  nearest;  and  in  our  own  in- 
terest, if  not  in  hers,  it  behooves  us  to  yield  this 
point.  If  you  have  a  roof  or  a  laundry  in  which 
clothes  may  be  dried,  so  that  the  usual  Monday 
rejoicings  shall  not  be  manifest  to  the  vicinage, 
Mary  Ann  may  be  persuaded  to  remain  indoors, 
and  horticultural  possibilities  thereupon  widen, 
cheerfully.  An  offer  to  let  her  receive  her  cousins 
in  the  kitchen,  every  night,  if  those  importunate 
relatives  will  visit  by  platoons  and  in  turn,  in- 
stead of  by  divisions  and  in  mass,  and  a  willing- 
ness not  to  inquire  where  the  last  butter,  sugar, 
tea,  coffee,  flour  and  cider  went,  will  sometimes 
make  Mary  Ann  amenable  to  petition.  So  it  is 
best  to  give  that  part  of  the  yard  to  grass  which 
is  nearest  to  the  house,  and  you  need  not  consider 
Mary  Ann  altogether  in  this ;  because  the  views 

21 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

from  your  back  windows  will  be  pleasanter  If  the 
flower-beds  are  at  the  back  of  the  yard,  where 
they  can  best  be  seen,  and  where  they  have  the 
park-hke  preface  of  a  lawn. 

If  Mary  Ann's  feet  have  made  appreciable 
hollows  in  your  grass-plot.  In  their  goings  and 
comings,  they  can  be  filled  In  with  light  earth, 
and  the  lawn  may  be  reroUed.  A  smooth  and 
velvety  lawn  Is  a  delight  to  the  eye,  look  we 
never  so  lovingly  on  nature  In  the  wild.  Perfect 
grass  Is  not  to  be  grown  overnight.  In  England, 
where  you  see  It  at  Its  best,  they  have  a  saying 
that,  to  make  a  lawn  requires  three  or  four  cen- 
turies. We  can  make  one  In  less  time  than  that 
In  our  country,  and  you  may  see  lawns  of  almost 
English  beauty  among  the  unvlslted  wilds  of 
upper  Manhattan.  There  are  some  estates  In 
that  forgotten  quarter  of  the  world,  soon  to  be 
blasted  and  leveled  and  chopped  and  covered 
with  flats,  which  recall  the  stately  halls  of  Eng- 
land, not  so  much  In  their  buildings  as  In  the 
lovely  settings  of  trees,  vines,  flower-beds  and 
billowy  or  lake-like  grass  fields. 

After  planting  your  lawn  you  will  put  In 
your  bulbs — your  crocuses,  hyacinths,  freesias, 


MAKING     READY 

jonquils,  and  tulips,  and  in  placing  them  in  the 
earth,  as  also  in  setting  out  your  woody  plants, 
your  peonies  and  your  fleur-de-lis,  put  a  bit  of 
old  manure  into  each  burial  pit  before  placing 
your  bulb  or  root  there.  After  all  is  in  place,  it 
is  well  to  cover  your  yard  with  a  mulch  of  leaves 
or  straw,  if  you  live  in  the  zone  of  long,  cold 
winters,  and  in  early  spring,  Avhen  frosts  still 
threaten  in  our  land,  which  has  so  little  climate 
and  so  much  weather,  protect  the  young  plants, 
if  you  observe  a  falling  thermometer.  This  you 
may  do  by  inverting  pails,  buckets  or  hardware 
over  them,  or  by  pegging  down  thick  papers  or 
paper  bags,  to  be  removed  next  day,  or  as  soon 
as  the  sun  shines.  Still,  plants  are  a  deal  tougher 
than  they  look,  and  the  early  ones,  that  the  poets 
call  fragile  and  tender,  will  defy  weather  such 
as  will  wilt  a  tramp.  Your  bulbs  will  throw  up 
shoots  while  the  nights  are  sharp,  and  will  invite 
the  insect  with  color  and  perfume  while  yet  the 
insect  is  heavy  with  its  chrysalis  sleep.  Then 
come  the  budding  and  the  universal  upspring, 
and  from  that  time,  through  two-thirds  of  the 
year,  your  garden  will  be  a  place  of  beauty. 


23 


II 

THE    CITY   YARD 

That  your  estate  of  twenty-five  by  sixty  may 
be  a  place  of  beauty,  In  truth,  you  will  determine 
on  the  form  of  It  In  the  fall,  so  that  It  may  come 
Into  bearing  early,  and  so  that  there  may  be  no 
disfigurements  and  eliminations  through  the  cor- 
rection of  mistakes,  after  It  Is  In  flower.  Let 
your  lines  and  forms  be  simple  and  direct,  and 
use  color  and  foliage  In  masses.  Instead  of  In  de- 
tached bits.  Indeed,  massing  Is  necessary  to  slm- 
pHcIty.  Put  like  with  like,  and  aim  for  broad 
effects,  rather  than  for  diversity.  Be  formal 
rather  than  negligent,  but  do  not  carry  formality 
to  fantasy  and  grotesqueness.  And  here  another 
problem  offers :  Shall  we  make  a  formal  garden 
where  all  the  surroundings  are  formal,  or  shall 
we  seek  to  offset  formality  by  lines  of  grace  and 
freedom  ?  I  grow  more  and  more  to  believe  that 
we  must  civilize  our  surroundings  when  we  break 
away  from  nature  so  completely  as  we  must  in 
24 


THE     CITY     YARD 

town,  and  that  it  is  a  parody  on  nature  rather 
than  a  reminder  of  her  beauties  when  we  attempt 
to  illustrate  the  phases  of  the  great  world  in  a 
back  yard.  A  formal  garden  enables  us  to  utiHze 
our  space  most  fully;  it  exposes  the  whole  yard 
at  a  view;  it  gives  opportunity  for  the  cultivation 
of  a  sufficient  variety  and  of  brilliant  groups. 
Harmony  is  better  esthetics  than  contrast,  where- 
fore the  fixity  of  the  garden  plan  conforms  not 
disagreeably  to  the  stubborn  architecture  that 
hems  it  in.  If  the  yard  is  a  large  one,  then,  in- 
deed, we  may  undertake  to  create  some  land- 
scape and  to  soften  the  environment,  but  it  is 
hard  to  make  a  substitute  for  fields,  woods  and 
hills  in  a  place  where  Mary  Ann  has  been  drying 
the  clothes.  The  Japanese,  it  is  true,  have  the 
country  in  little  in  a  quarter  of  an  acre;  but  that 
resolves  itself,  after  all,  into  another  phase  of 
formalism.  They  have  miniature  gardens,  moun- 
tains, lakes,  lawns  and  forests;  for  by  pinching 
off  the  roots  of  maples  and  evergreens  they  con- 
fine those  trees  to  a  height  of  one  or  two  feet. 
They  induce  a  dwarf  habit  of  growth.  I  once 
owned  a  couple  of  cedars  that  were  fifteen  or 
twenty  years  old,  and  were  less  than  six  inches 
25 

In     M     vAii  t     I  mo 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

in  height.  The  Japanese  landscape  effects  are 
on  the  same  microscopic  scale  as  these  trees,  and 
the  seen-through-the-small-end-of-an-opera-glass 
gardens  would  not  go  well  with  four-story  houses 
and  the  dust  and  ugliness  of  town.  With  the 
slight  and  pretty  dwellings  of  the  Japanese  they 
are  possible  enough. 

If  you  are  resolved  on  bringing  nature  into 
the  town,  it  will  signify  that  you  are  a  man  whose 
sympathies  are  not  all  for  humanity,  but  have 
some  reach  Into  the  world  where  gain  and  poli- 
tics are  not;  while  this,  in  turn,  will  mean  that 
you  desire  to  be  yourself,  rather  than  to  be  other 
men,  taking  color  from  nature,  rather  than  so- 
ciety; hence,  you  will  esteem  privacy,  at  least, 
somewhiles,  and  will  seek  rather  to  escape  the 
observation  of  the  precinct  than  to  be  the  focus 
of  it.  Therefore,  your  first  care  will  be  to  close 
yourself  about  with  vegetation.  If  it  is  per- 
mitted, you  will  plant  trees  at  the  end  of  your 
yard,  train  a  hedge  of  privet  along  the  sides  of  it, 
and  mask  your  house,  back  and  front,  with  Ivy, 
ampelopsis,  honeysuckle  or  wistaria.  You  will 
live  In  a  jungle,  barely  penetrable  by  prying  eyes 
and,  I  hope,  as  delightful  as  it  Is  secluded;  and 
26 


THE     CITY     YARD 

although  you  may  reserve  patches  for  flowers, 
the  first  aim  will  be  to  secure  rich  and  concealing 
greenery.  Now,  the  effect  of  space  can  be  gained 
in  narrow  limits  only  by  evasions  and  conceal- 
ments. If  your  whole  yard  stands  disclosed,  if 
nothing  is  suggested  or  left  to  fancy,  if  there  is 
no  mystery,  it  must  of  need  seem  small,  and  its 
charm  will  be  that  of  accuracy.  Our  informal 
yard  will  require  trees  or  bushes  tall  enough  to 
break  the  prospect,  and  to  that  end  we  must  plant 
them  in  sinuosities,  instead  of  right  lines.  Also, 
it  will  be  well  to  place  the  smallest  near  the  house, 
for  it  is  another  rule  in  gardening,  so  far  as  gar- 
dening can  be  confined  by  rules,  to  bring  the 
smallest  near,  where  the  eye  would  otherwise 
overlook  them,  and  let  the  tall,  strong  plants 
speak  for  themselves  at  a  distance.  Thus  your 
wilderness  will  recede  in  ever-heightening 
masses,  the  remoter  growths  suggesting  the  edge 
of  a  wood  into  which  one  might  penetrate  for 
more  than — well,  six  or  eight  feet.  Here,  then, 
is  a  scheme  to  gain  this  effect: 

The  yard  is  given  over  to  grass,  chiefly,  for, 
as  there  is  much  shade,  flowers  will  not  bloom 
copiously;  and,  again,  if  you  insist  on  flower-beds 
27 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

in  addition  to  so  many  shrubs  and  trees,  the 
picture  will  be  crowded  and  confused.  There  is 
not  the  least  objection,  however,  to  trellises  en- 
closing the  whole  yard,  and  supporting  sweet 
peas,    trumpet-vine,    passion-vine,    honeysuckle, 


^t  \ 


41  :^-'^  ^^i^.  '-.^-^-^ 


3» 


Fig.   I 


2,  3,  Shrubs;   4,  trees;    5,  flower-beds. 


moonflower,  morning-glory  or  climbing  roses. 
Such  vines  need  not  encroach  on  the  yard  itself, 
and  if  they  are  carried  to  a  height  of  eight  or 
ten  feet  they  will  add  much  to  the  seclusion,  both 
actual  and  apparent.  If  flowers  of  smaller  habit 
are  used,  wild  ones  will  better  consist  with  your 
plan  than  tame  ones.  I  am  fond  of  the  wild 
28 


THE     CITY     YARD 

things,  and  have  grown  them  with  success  in  a 
city  yard,  my  golden-rod  standing  head  high, 
with  stems  hke  willow  branches  for  girth  and 
stoutness;  my  buttercups  unfolding  In  a  very 
cloud — hundreds  of  shining  blooms;  my  daisies 
starring  the  perspective  with  copious  silver;  and 
I  know  a  front  yard,  two  minutes  from  one  of  the 
busiest  streets  in  New  York,  that,  in  the  season. 
Is  beautiful  with  wild  asters.  In  the  plan,  the 
objects  numbered  i  are  hydrangeas,  rhododen- 
drons or  any  other  tough  bushes  that  mark  the 
beginning  of  the  yard  without  too  much  exact- 
ness, and  are  not  high  enough  to  conceal  those  a 
little  beyond.  Those  marked  2  are  taller;  welge- 
lia,  black  currant,  syringa,  rudbeckia  or  any  such, 
while  number  3  are  higher  yet :  privet,  lilac  and 
shadbush.  The  forms  marked  4  are  trees, 
preferably  pines,  hemlocks,  firs  or  spruces,  If 
your  yard  has  fresh  air  and  is  near  the  outskirts; 
if  not,  don't  doom  these  children  of  liberty  to 
the  crowd;  choose.  Instead,  some  deciduous  trees, 
or  even  erect  a  narrow  arbor,  or  a  trellis,  to  extend 
across  the  end  of  the  yard,  and  clothe  it  heavily 
with  vines.  Number  5  stands  for  flower-beds. 
The  arrangement  In  this  manner  of  planting, 
29 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

which  can  be  varied  to  any  extent,  has  for  Its 
object  the  partial  screening  of  the  distance,  so 
that  the  eye  merely  guesses  at  a  beyond  which 
isn't  there,  or  Is  a  different  sort  of  beyond  from 
one  that  you  prefer  to  guess.  The  eye  travels 
along  a  path  that  loses  Itself  among  syrlngas  and 
lilacs,  from  whatever  point  near  the  house  you 
may  view  it.  The  object  of  a  path  hke  that  Is 
rather  to  Invite  your  eyes  than  your  feet,  for  Its 
windings  suggest  that  It  rambles  on  indefinitely. 
If  your  neighbor,  dos  a  dos,  falls  in  with  this 
device,  and  will  plant  a  few  trees  at  the  back  of 
his  yard,  so  that  your  forests  adjoin  one  another, 
save  fox"  the  fence  (and  If  you  are  good  friends 
that  need  no  more  stand  In  your  way  than  if  it 
were  the  constitution),  your  wild  properties  be- 
come almost  Impressive  In  extent.  The  objec- 
tions to  the  plan  are  that  it  Is  much  broken — 
cluttered,  the  housewife  may  say — and  that  grass 
will  not  grow  well  under  trees,  for  It  demands 
sun;  but  It  has  the  advantage  that  It  offers  medi- 
tative walks,  and  a  chair  or  bench  or  hammock 
placed  under  the  trees,  or  in  the  arbor,  permits 
you  to  enjoy  a  book,  or  the  cool  and  fragrance 
of  the  evening,  or  the  warmth  and  perfume  of 

30 


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RESULTS    IN    A    CONTRACTED    DOMAIN. 


THE     CITY     YARD 

your  cigar,  In  relative  security  against  the  hun- 
dred and  fifty  eyes  at  the  back  windows.  Your 
forest  will  require  frequent  trimming,  for  unless 
you  keep  the  vistas  open  and  remorselessly  check 
the  attempts  of  the  lilacs  to  fill  the  whole  yard, 
you  will  presently  have  to  fight  for  admission  to 
your  own  premises.  A  more  serious  objection  is 
that  children,  strangers,  and  Mary  Ann,  who  is 
a  law  unto  herself,  will  by  no  means  travel  on  the 
path,  for  it  is  human  nature,  and  especially  Amer- 
ican nature,  and  often  a  most  excellent  quality, 
to  go  straight  to  a  designated  object,  considering 
grace  and  the  neighbors  not  a  whit;  hence  your 
path  will  be  much  neglected,  and  your  grass 
much  walked  on.  Even  in  parks,  with  police  on 
duty  as  exemplars  and  enforcers  of  taste,  people 
will  take  short  cuts  to  save  a  bend. 

It  Is,  therefore,  with  hesitancy  that  I  suggest 
a  still  more  radical  but  more  conventional  use  of 
the  curve.  It  Is  so  completely  artificial  and 
against  likelihood  that  I  would  hardly  admit  It 
here,  were  it  not  that  I  know  people  whose 
houses  are  only  thirty  feet  back  from  the  street, 
yet  they  must  have  a  curved  drive.  In  both  direc- 
tions, to  the  front  door,  and  a  porte-cochere  for 
31 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

the  shelter  of  visitors.  Well,  here  Is  a  double 
curve :  the  oval.  Quite  like  a  frame  for  a  minia- 
ture, Isn't  It? 


Fig.  2. — I,  Flower-beds;    2,  trees  and  bushes. 

Mind,  I  don't  say  that  this  Is  pictorlally  bad, 
if  I  did  make  it  myself,  but  only  that  it  Is  un- 
American  and  impractical;  that  the  young  In- 
dians In  the  family,  seeing  their  bat  or  ball  where 
they  dropped  It,  at  the  farther  end  of  the  yard, 
would  make  a  rush  for  it,  and  would  wholly 
neglect  the  appointed  means  of  arriving.  No- 
body would  toddle  around  the  oval  but  old  per- 
sons, or  guests  whom  you  had  Invited  to  admire 
32 


THE     CITY     YARD 

the  effect,  and  who  were  looking  for  more  Im- 
portant favors  In  the  future.  But  If  there  are 
no  Indians,  and  no  Mary  Ann,  the  oval  lawn  Is 
rather  pretty,  don't  you  think?  Unless  you  were 
to  plant  flowers  In  a  smaller  oval  In  the  center, 
there  Is  no  place  for  flowers  Inside  the  walk,  and 
you  must  have  grass.  It  Is  the  symbol  and  the 
proof  of  plenty.  Our  soft-breasted  earth  yields 
treasure  to  her  children  for  the  asking,  yet  never 
in  such  wise  as  when  we  cut  the  grass.  For  other 
crops  are  planted  by  men's  hands;  they  have 
sown  and  watched  and  weeded;  they  have  spent 
their  strength  In  plowing,  harrowing,  watering, 
spraying  before  the  harvest  was  to  be  gathered. 
But  grass  Is  the  world's  freest  gift,  and  the  freest 
Is  often  the  finest,  like  the  night  spectacle  of  the 
stars,  and  the  splendors  of  the  sunset.  Grass 
grows  In  the  tropics,  and  the  arctics,  too.  In  the 
warm  darkness,  where  the  seed  has  sunk,  strange 
chemistries  go  on :  the  grain  of  weightless  matter 
has  thrown  out  Its  threads  of  white,  to  steady  the 
blade  It  will  presently  send  up  and  grip  the  earth. 
These  blades.  In  multitude  beyond  the  swords 
of  all  the  armies,  thrust  aside  the  sand  and  stones 
and  flourish,  shining.  In  our  sight.  Wonder  of 
33 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

life,  that  the  woody  atom,  dropped  Into  a  morsel 
of  soil,  has  been  able  to  take  to  itself,  not  only 
the  warmth  of  the  sun  and  the  wetness  of  the 
rain,  but  the  very  substance  of  the  planet,  and 
make  inert  mineral  turn  green  and  breathe !  For 
herein  is  God ;  herein  is  man  to  see  his  own  contin- 
uance; here  is  the  like  of  all  greater  creations, 
and  the  miracle  in  the  spear  of  grass  is  not  less 
than  that  of  the  revolving  worlds. 

Have  it  near  your  eye;  let  it  creep  to  your 
door;  for  this  clothing  of  the  globe  is  fair  to  all 
the  senses.  What  wonder  that  the  farmer,  walk- 
ing In  his  fields,  shines  his  content  at  his  eyes 
when  all  about  him  is  this  urging  and  Increasing 
life.  It  falls  in  his  service  without  the  coming  on 
of  bitterness.  Each  hillock  of  drying  grass  utters 
fragrance,  and  Is  a  lure.  Instead  of  a  reproach. 
Every  blade  has  had  Its  day  and  has  come  to  the 
end  of  It  In  fulness  of  life  and  exuberance  of 
spirit.  It  Is  charged  with  myriads  of  glistening 
atoms  of  silica,  which  have  given  strength  to  It 
to  stand  erect  and  hold  its  flowers  to  the  sun. 
It  Is  yet  strong  with  the  firmness  of  the  rock. 
And  that  strength  shall  pass  Into  the  fleetness  of 
horses;  sheep  shall  eat  and  clothe  us  with  the 
34 


THE     CITY     YARD 

warmth  that  the  grass  has  borrowed  from  the 
summer;  meek-eyed  cattle  with  sweet  breaths 
shall  return  it  to  their  masters  in  food  and  drink. 
And  the  grass-blade  has  a  power,  that  we  have 
not,  to  feed  upon  the  ground.  We  of  dainty- 
stomach  need  that  others  shall  live  first,  and  give 
their  lives  to  us.  It  is,  then,  no  less  a  moral  law 
than  a  law  of  nature  that  we  shall  fulfil  destiny 
by  giving  of  ourselves  for  others,  even  like  the 
grass.  We  stand  firmest  and  highest  when  we 
stand  alone,  yet  our  service  is  for  all,  and  accord- 
ing as  we  stand  apart  we  have  the  more  fertility 
to  give.  In  this  again  we  are  as  the  grass.  We 
are  not  as  if  each  were  an  entity;  we  are  only 
of  the  type;  but  as  we  increase,  so  shall  the  type 
prevail.  Like  the  grass,  we  must  convert  the 
dark  and  hard  to  brightness.  The  lesson  is  some- 
thing obvious,  yet  in  heeding  it  we  obey  the  law, 
not  merely  of  a  conscience,  but  necessity.  There- 
fore, again,  let  there  be  at  your  doors  a  plenty 
of  grass  for  your  eye  and  your  inner  understand- 
ing to  rest  upon. 

It  is  a  law  In  landscape-gardening  that  a  path 
Is  to  bend  only  to  accommodate  Itself  to  the  lay 
of  the  ground :  to  go  around  a  knoll,  or  avoid  a 
35 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

hollow,  a  pond,  a  ledge  or  a  tree.  You  see  that, 
In  the  first  sketch,  no  such  interruptions  exist,  so 
we  had  to  make  them  by  planting  trees  where 
the  curves  were  desired.  The  continuous  curve 
In  the  second  conceit  Is  wholly  arbitrary;  It  Is  a 
softening  of  the  more  usual  rectangular  lay-out, 
and  Is  designed  to  be  viewed  from  the  second- 
floor  windows.  The  first  device  Is  less  formal; 
still,  if  It  misllkes  you,  (and  I  don't  like  it,  alto- 
gether,) or  If  the  folks  next  door  protest  that 
you  have  no  right  to  plant  trees  that  will  throw 
a  killing  shade  on  their  flower-beds  and  extend 
their  roots  under  the  fence,  to  the  stealing  of 
moisture — because  folks  who  live  next  door  to 
people  are  apt  to  do  just  this,  being  an  inconsid- 
erate company — you  can  subdue  your  yard  to 
good  uses,  none  the  less,  and  be  agreeable,  in 
spite  of  being  more  customary  than  if  you  raised 
jungles.  If  they  will  not  let  you  have  trees,  or 
if,  as  Is  more  probable,  you  decide  that  you 
haven't  room  enough,  your  fence  will  stare  you 
out  of  countenance,  and  a  back  fence  must  have 
been  Invented  as  a  part  of  the  punishment  for 
leaving  Eden.  There  Is  no  more  fearsome  beast 
than  your  back  fence.  It  is  of  close-fitted  boards, 

36 


THE     CITY     YARD 

six  feet  high,  and  painted  white  or  drab.  In  New 
England  they  make  a  color  that  is  used  or  found 
nowhere  else,  I  believe;  a  blend  of  brown  and 
lead  that  must  have  been  inherited  from  the  garb 
of  the  Puritans,  hence.  Is  as  far  from  joy  as  colors 
can  be;  and  this  doleful  hue,  a  stain  of  original 
sin,  they  delight  to  smear  upon  their  fences.  It 
may  be  the  contemplation  of  this  color,  In  the 
fences  of  Cambridge,  that  produces  such  frantic 
outbreaks  of  conduct  In  Harvard,  for  aught  we 
know.  But  as  you  go  southward  you  see  less  of 
this  melancholy,  and  an  attempt  to  simulate 
gaiety  with  buff  or  whitewash.  If  you  find  It  pos- 
sible to  agree  with  the  man  next  door,  or  If  he 
consents  to  drown  his  offspring,  you  can  tear 
down  the  structure;  or.  If  a  partition  is  really  nec- 
essary, you  can  plant  box,  or  privet,  or  even  a 
row  of  lilacs;  but,  be  sure  of  your  man,  for  he 
may  have  saved  an  urchin  child  from  the  sac- 
rifice, or  he  may  own  a  large  and  vehement  dog 
of  the  breed  that  delights  to  leap  over  obstruc- 
tions and  riot  over  forbidden  premises.  There 
will  be  a  sad  to-do,  in  such  a  case,  over  the  up- 
rooting of  the  hedge  and  the  reversion  to  boards ; 
but — whisper !  You  can  let  the  hedge  remain, 
37 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

and  run  a  barbed  wire  or  electrified  netting  along 
your  side  of  It.  If  you  have  a  fence,  make  It  as 
Innocuous  as  possible  by  coloring  It  a  light  and 
cheerful  green,  to  conform  to  the  vegetation.  Do 
not  paint  it:  stain  it;  and  don't,  for  goodness' 
sake,  make  it  a  bilious  green,  but  a  yellow  green. 
That  shade  of  yellow  which  in  the  speech  of  the 
commoner  Is  denoted  as  "  yaller  "  suggests  liver 
complaint;  but  yellow  Is  a  color  to  use  without  a 
green  admixture,  if  your  yard  is  a  haunt  of  shad- 
ows, and  needs  inspiriting.  Yellow  Is  the  sunni- 
est, happiest  color  in  the  world,  though  we  use 
the  name  as  an  adjective  of  contempt.  You  re- 
member the  yellow  suite  in  Marie  Antoinette's 
apartments  at  Versailles,  and  how  the  sun  seems 
to  shine  there  on  the  dullest  days.  With  a  yel- 
low or  yellow-green  fence,  and  such  sparks  of 
golden  light  splashed  against  it,  and  over  the 
sward,  as  Persian  roses,  marigolds,  nasturtiums, 
coreopsis,  zinnias,  buttercups,  rudbeckia,  chrys- 
anthemums and  cannas,  you  will  have  a  remedy 
against  the  blues.  If  you  merely  rent  the  place, 
and  the  landlord,  being  a  man  without  a  glim- 
mering of  taste  or  a  prompting  toward  helpful- 
ness, declines  to  stain  the  fence,  leaving  it  cov- 

38 


THE     CITY     YARD 

ered  with  whitewash  or  shiny  paint  of  an  ugly 
or  staring  color,  be  not  as  one  without  hope. 
Drive  pegs  into  the  ground,  fasten  strings  from 
them  to  nails  in  the  top  of  the  fence,  plant  morn- 
ing-glory, and  in  a  few  weeks  the  dismal  object 
will  be  hidden  from  sight,  while  you  will  be  able 
to  spend  m.ost  of  your  spare  time  in  pulling  up 
little  glories  that  will  have  seeded  themselves 
all  over  the  yard.  The  Calabrian  invasion  of 
America  Is  alone  to  be  compared  with  the  enthu- 
siasm of  the  morning-glory  for  expansion. 

If  the  people  next  door  do  not  object — and 
why  should  they,  since  they  share  the  show? — 
you  can  erect  a  trellis  clean  around  your  yard  for 
the  more  and  better  exhibition  of  the  other  climb- 
ing things  and  the  Increase  of  privacy.  A  sub- 
stitute for  a  trellis  Is  a  strand  or  two  of  wire  car- 
ried above  the  fence  top  for  a  foot  or  so  by 
pickets;  but  be  careful  not  to  Impose  too  heavy 
a  burden  upon  the  wire.  A  mass  of  vegetation, 
especially  after  a  rain,  or  a  showering  with  the 
hose,  weighs  twice  as  much  as  you  tell  yourself 
is  possible. 

Having,  then,  composed  your  mind  respect- 
ing the  fence,  and  come  to  the  conclusion  that  a 
4  39 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

conventional  design  for  the  yard  is  more  suitable 
in  a  city  than  the  first  plan,  let  us  see  what  can 
be  done  with  our  space.  Suppose  we  try  some- 
thing formal — no  Italian  garden,  bless  you,  but 
one  that  shapes  itself  withal  to  the  size  and  form 
of  our  reservation,  and  better,  on  some  accounts, 
for  a  front  yard  than  a  back  one;  only,  if  you 
have  flowers  in  the  front  yard,  you  will  have 
most  of  the  children  of  the  neighborhood  there; 
hence,  you  must  add  ferocious  bloodhounds  and 
awful  serpents  to  your  menage. 

The  scheme  is  simple:  a  central  walk,  end- 
ing at  a  semicircular  bed  (4),  with  a  small  tree, 
mound,  rockery,  bench,  niche  or  conspicuous  foli- 
age plants;  strips  of  lawn  on  either  side  of  the 
way,  and  parallel  beds  beyond  the  lawns  (i,  2 
and  3 ) ,  the  first  devoted  to  plants  of  low  growth, 
the  second  to  higher,  and  the  third  to  the  highest, 
with  a  trellis  still  behind  and  above  them,  if  you 
like.  The  exhibits  are  thus  arranged  in  steps, 
so  that  all  are  in  view  at  once,  and  the  show  of 
bloom  can  be  superb.  In  fact,  if  the  yard  is  dished 
— that  is,  if  it  hollows  a  little  in  the  center — it  can 
be  terraced,  the  platforms  ascending  in  rises  of 
six  or  eight  inches;  but  that  sort  of  thing  is  to  be 
40 


THE     CITY     YARD 

avoided,  ordinarily,  because  terracing  means  re- 
taining walls,  and  masonry  means  just  so  much 
room  taken  from  the  cultivable  portion  of  your 
domain;  then,  if  it  is  not  upheld  by  a  front  of 
brick  or  stone,  as  well  as  a  strengthening  addi- 
tion to  the  fence,  your  terrace  will  wash  down  in 


Fig.  3. — 1,  2,  3,  Parallel  flower-beds;   4,  semicircular 
flower-bed. 

a  heavy  rain  or  thaw,  and  become  unsightly; 
and,  lastly,  such  things  require  to  be  done  on  a 
large  scale,  or  they  appear  fussy  and  overdone. 
The  uprights  in  the  diagram  stand  for  clothes- 
poles,  if  the  domestic  economies  require  them.  It 
will  be  noted  that  they  are  placed  on  the  lawns ; 
41 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

hence  it  is  not  incumbent  on  Mary  Ann  to  waac 
in  among  the  heliotrope  and  mignonette — dainty 
httle  things,  so  suggestive  of  her  own  dainty  self ! 
Or,  revolving  clothes-dryers,  or  poles  with  arms 
that  project  like  spokes,  may  be  erected  so  near 
to  the  house  that  nothing  but  Mary  Ann's  desire 
to  gambol  will  project  her  into  the  flower-beds. 
The  advantages  of  the  plan  here  submitted  are 
simplicity  and  compactness.  The  yard  is  treated 
as  a  flower-bed  and  a  lawn,  rather  than  as  a  series 
of  beds  and  lawns.  There  is  no  lost  space.  The 
lines  follow  those  of  the  fences  and  party  walls, 
and  have  not  a  particle  of  originality  or  charac- 
ter. Your  flowers  will  have  something  of  the 
appearance  of  exhibits  on  the  shelves  of  a  mu- 
seum. Hard,  set  form  will,  therefore,  be  an  at- 
tribute of  this  device.  It  can,  however,  be  modi- 
fied by  the  insertion  of  a  central  bed,  the  side 
beds  being  curved  along  their  faces  to  conform 
to  it  geometrically.  This  breaks  the  severity 
of  the  plan  somewhat,  yet  it  is  still  rigid,  and 
unless  the  neighbors  had  a  good  deal  of  green 
that  appeared  above  their  fences  you  would  feel 
that  you  had  more  than  your  share  of  flowers, 
and  they  the  less. 

42 


THE     CITY     YARD 

It  would  be  better  If  the  central  circle  were 
a  pool  or  a  fountain  than  a  flower-bed,  If  circum- 
stances permitted.  That  would  relieve  the  ap- 
pearance of  crowding  which  would  result  from 
the  addition  of  still  another  bed  to  those  that 
occupy  so  large  a  part  of  the  surface.     If  you 


Fig.  4. 


2,  3,  Flower-beds;  4,  sun-dial. 


would  cultivate  few  varieties  of  flowers,  but  have 
a  quantity  of  each,  a  division  of  this  sort  com- 
mends itself.  If  you  filled  bed  number  i  with 
tulips,  number  2  with  hyacinths  and  kept  num- 
ber 3  for  tall  and  hardy  flowers,  there  would  be 
a  rare  bravery  of  color  and  great  delight  of  fra- 
43 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

grance  in  the  spring;  then,  after  the  fading,  you 
could  take  out  and  store  the  bulbs  for  fall  plant- 
ing, and  fill  their  places  with  summer  bloomers. 
It  is  one  of  the  temptations  to  a  yard  owner  to 
work  his  ground  to  the  limit,  having  so  little  of 
it;  and  while  it  insures  constant  bloom,  to  buy 
potted  plants  at  the  greenhouses,  plunge  them 
into  the  soil,  keep  them  for  a  fortnight  or  so, 
then  cast  them  out  to  make  room  for  novelties, 
your  real  gardener  will  not  do  this.  To  say 
nothing  of  the  cost,  it  is  best  to  grow  up  with  the 
plant  children,  to  know  their  traits.  You  love 
them  the  better — pretty  dependents — for  minis- 
tering to  their  needs,  and  they  reward  the  care 
with  docile  behavior  and  a  cheery  aspect.  My 
own  choice  for  a  yard  is  for  a  preponderance  of 
perennials,  the  good,  hardy,  reliable,  free-bloom- 
ers of  our  grandmothers'  gardens,  that  we  can 
watch  for  in  April  and  May  with  a  certainty  as 
absolute  as  the  rising  of  Orion  a  few  weeks 
earlier. 

The  fixity  of  this  arrangement  in  strips  will 

make  the  yard  seem  longer,  for  when  we  break 

lines  of  that  kind  we  seem  to  shorten  them.    We 

could  soften  the  asperity  of  the  plan  in  sundry 

44 


THE     CITY     YARD 

ways,  as  by  erecting  an  arch  of  wire  at  the  en- 
trance to  the  path,  and  training  roses  over  it,  or 
building  an  arch,  midway,  to  span  the  yard  Itself 
and  covering  It  with  a  vine.  The  result  would 
be  rococo;  there  would  be  a  harking  back  to  the 
Watteau  and  Boucher  era,  to  the  "  hour,  flower, 
bower"  age  of  sentiment;  and  I  am  better  in 
favor  of  as  wide  a  space  as  the  yard  will  give, 
enjoying  the  grass  and  reserving  tall  bushes  and 
vines  for  places  near  to  or  against  the  fence. 
An  arbor,  if  you  must  have  one,  should  be  of 
more  substance  than  an  arch  of  wire,  and  what- 
ever large  object  we  may  elect  to  place  as  orna- 
ment in  the  yard — for  our  composition  must 
have  a  central  point  of  interest,  a  focus — is  better 
at  the  end  of  the  vista  than  the  beginning  of  it, 
since  we  shall  see  it  a  hundred  times  from  the 
door  and  windows  to  once  that  we  will  look 
toward  the  house.  And  as  we  shall  see  the  yard 
oftenest  from  the  windows,  it  is  wise  to  have 
some  equivalent  matter  to  take  the  place  that  in 
a  picture  is  occupied  by  the  commanding  figure, 
or  the  high  light.  Statuary  needs  space,  and  it 
needs  to  be  good.  But  for  this  I  should  consent 
to  a  small  and  modest  figure,  half  hidden  by 
45 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

flowers  and  shaded  by  branches  at  the  spot 
marked  number  4  in  the  third  plan,  the  trees  be- 
hind the  focal  point  in  the  first.  White  is  all 
light,  but  it  goes  well  with  nearly  anything. 
Still,  we  have  to  remember  that  marble  figures 
are  fragile  and  expensive,  and  a  bronze  nymph 
or  satyr  that  had  taken  on  the  green  of  age, 
would  best  harmonize  with  its  verdurous  envi- 
ronment. Whatever  you  do,  don't  get  one  of 
those  smirking,  insipid  statuettes  of  Flora,  Ceres, 
Hebe  or  Ganymede  that  you  find  on  the  lawn  of 
the  parvenu — things  that  belong  with  the  tatting 
tidy,  the  lamp  in  petticoats  and  the  plush  album. 
Nor  must  you  buy  a  metal  deer,  elk,  bear  or  lion 
to  lord  it  over  the  premises  and,  assumably,  to 
feed  by  night  on  the  rhododendrons.  We  all 
know  that  such  animals  do  not  prowl  about  town 
yards.  With  the  brassy  freshness  of  the  foundry 
yet  upon  them,  they  have  as  much  relation  to 
your  posies  as  so  many  pounds  of  stoves.  In  fact, 
you  are  not  pledged  to  use  statuary.  There  are 
urns,  sun-dials,  jardinieres  and  fountains.  You 
may  attach  a  fountain  spray  to  your  hose  and 
turn  on  the  water  in  the  evening,  and  the  spar- 
kling current,  leaping  from  an  ambush  of  cannas 

46 


THE     CITY     YARD 

or  marigolds  will  make  a  really  pretty  episode 
in  the  scene.  In  town  the  water  will  be  low, 
just  when  you  want  to  use  It;  then  you  may  feel 
bashful  about  having  your  neighbors  discover 
the  fountain  when  they  have  trouble  in  getting 
enough  to  wash  the  dishes ;  so  in  that  case,  there 
remain  the  other  adornments :  a  vase  of  bronze, 
for  example,  to  be  filled  with  pansles  or  nas- 
turtiums, or  a  jardiniere,  preferably  of  Chinese 
or  Japanese  make,  and  of  celadon,  blue  and 
white,  or  pale-green  porcelain,  in  which  may 
stand  a  rubber-plant  or  palm;  or,  a  box  with  or- 
namental handles,  or  a  painted  tub.  Avoid  the 
tawdry  French  and  German  china;  not  that  all 
the  china  from  the  modern  potteries  Is  tawdry, 
by  any  means,  for  the  Orientals  are  now  doing 
some  deplorable  work;  but  there  is  a  refinement, 
delicacy,  purity  in  the  best  Chinese  porcelains 
that  you  will  find  in  no  other.  Of  course,  the 
finest  single  colors  in  these  fictiles  are  not  for  ex- 
posure to  the  breakage  and  the  weathering  of  the 
garden.  They  are  to  be  housed  as  preciously  as 
Raphaels  and  Oriental  rugs — works  of  art  that 
the  world  may  be  doomed  to  see  no  more,  now 
that  commercialism  has  invaded  the  studios  and 
47 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

the  Orient,  and  cheap  materials,  hasty  methods 
and  insincere  workmanship  are  rewarded  as  hon- 
esty and  effort  used  to  be. 

You  need  not  use  marble,  bronze  or  porce- 
lain for  your  central  point  of  interest.  Large 
and  decorative  plants  will  serve.  The  splendid 
green  of  the  rubber-tree  and  the  exquisite  grace 
of  palms,  particularly  the  kentia,  qualify  these 
plants  for  decorative  purposes.  The  kentia  bal- 
moreana  is  an  especially  useful  palm,  less  tender, 
more  thrifty,  larger  and  more  beautiful  in  a 
northern  climate  than  are  some  of  the  commoner 
species.  A  rockery  is  not  a  bad  focus  for  a  gar- 
den, either.  These  features  may  be  combined 
by  the  exercise  of  a  little  taste  and  ingenuity, 
thus :  a  crescent  of  flowers  in  the  bed  number  4, 
third  plan,  a  rock  pile  back  of  it,  half  concealed 
In  vines  or  cacti,  a  jardiniere  stoutly  fixed  in  the 
front  and  center  of  the  rockery,  and  a  water 
spray  arising  from  before  the  crescent.  This 
group  of  objects,  or  any  such,  will  pleasantly  as- 
sert itself,  and  will  both  lend  and  borrow  interest 
from  its  surroundings.  The  focus  may  be  shifted 
to  any  part  of  the  yard,  and  so  long  as  the  other 
contents  are  subordinate  to  It  and  not  In  rivalry, 
48 


THE     CITY     YARD 

and  so  that  the  lines  of  composition  tend  toward 
it,  It  will  remain  a  focus,  and  the  eye  will  seek  It. 
Or,  for  purposes  of  emphasis,  a  stout  bush,  a 
group  of  showy  flowers,  a  tree,  an  old  trunk  cov- 
ered with  vine,  a  mass  of  morning-glory  clam- 
bering up  the  pole  of  a  bird-house:  these  will 
serve. 

Now,  It  may  be  that  the  house  Is  rented,  and 
the  owner  will  not  permit  liberties  to  be  taken 
with  his  real  estate.  You  never  can  tell  what 
manner  of  man  an  owner  Is  going  to  be,  when 
you  sign  a  lease.  A  certain  tenant  whom  I  know 
had  trained  with  care  and  affection  a  Boston  ivy 
to  cover  a  house  front.  It  was  a  wondrous  re- 
lief to  a  bleakly  unimportant  street.  The  vine 
broke  Into  color  early  and  kept  of  a  polished 
and  healthful  green  for  six  months.  Along 
comes  the  landlord,  looks  at  It,  and  remarks, 
*'Well,  when  that  stuff's  all  cut  off,  and  a  good 
coat  of  paint's  put  over  them  bricks,  that'll  be  a 
good-lookin'  house  again."  That  Is  the  sort  of 
being  who  Is  likely  to  object  to  spading  and 
planting,  because  they  might  interfere  with  the 
setting  out  of  clothes-poles.  A  popular  kind  of 
yard,  of  his  devising,  is  this: 
49 


LITTLE     GARDENS 


Fig.  5. 

The  shaded  part  expresses  flagstones  or  as- 
phalt; the  rest  Is  grass.  I  had  the  run  of  that 
pattern  of  yard  for  a  season  or  two,  and  as  It  was 
the  playground  of  sundry  small  boys  of  an  In- 
quiring turn  respecting  vegetation,  which  Im- 
pelled them  to  take  plants  out  of  the  earth  now 
and  then,  to  see  how  they  were  getting  on,  I  did 
not  undertake  anything  difficult.  I  adopted  the 
simple  scheme  shown  In  Fig.  6. 

Grass  was  the  principal  attraction  here,  yet, 

on  a  summer  evening  after  a  good  showering 

with  the  hose  there  was  a  deal  of  gaiety  In  the 

foreground  and  among  the  plebeian  bushes  that 

50 


THE     CITY     YARD 

edged  the  fence.  We  concealed  a  part  of  that 
fence  with  glories,  sweet  peas,  wild  beans,  and 
tried  to  conceal  the  rest  of  it  with  vines  that 
made  amazing  pictures  in  the  seedsmen's  cata- 
logues, but  that  refused  on  any  terms  to  enter 


Fig.    6.  —  I,    Wild   garden;    2,   flower-beds;    3,   rockery; 
4,   shrubs  and  hardy  plants;    5,  jimson-vveed. 


into  the  picture  made  by  our  premises — a  cir- 
cumstance that  filled  me  with  grief  and  astonish- 
ment, for  I  had  supposed  that  seedsmen's  cata- 
logues were  as  true  as  the  Farmer's  Almanac. 
We  had  one  thing  in  that  yard  that  nobody  else 
had,  willingly,  and  we  were  proud  of  it,  namely, 

51 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

a  "  jimson-weed  " — the  stramonium,  or  thorn- 
apple,  of  the  vacant  lots.  This  had  sown  itself 
in  the  center  of  the  back  bed,  and  being  pictur- 
esque of  leaf  and  an  oddity  among  cultivated 
plants,  I  spared  it.  Ordinarily,  the  sure  way  to 
kill  a  weed  is  to  become  attached  to  it,  and  give 
the  same  care  to  it  that  you  would  to  an  exotic. 
It  will  pine  and  die.  "  You  never  loved  a  dear 
gazelle — "  and  all  that  sort  of  thing,  you  know. 
But  this  Jamestown  weed  endured  prosperity 
with  a  cheer  that  it  was  good  to  see.  It  grew  and 
grew  until  it  was  the  prize  among  its  species. 
Out  in  California  they  have  jimsons  so  big  that 
you  can  play  under  them,  but  I  speak  now  of  our 
humble  Eastern  variety,  which  is  usually  of  a 
dusty,  weed-like  aspect,  rooted  among  ash-dumps, 
crockery  and  old  cans,  and  lapsing  into  a  squalor 
of  age  at  the  first  nip  of  the  frost.  I  hoed  the 
soil  about  it,  watered  it,  picked  off  the  beetles 
and  grubs,  and  when  the  flowers  came,  gathered 
them  every  evening,  at  least,  all  but  enough  to 
attract  the  night-moth,  with  its  astonishing  pro- 
boscis. The  determination  of  that  plant  to  have 
seed  caused  it  to  put  forth  blossoms  in  a  multi- 
tude, and  it  swelled  almost  to  the  dimension  of 
52 


THE     CITY     YARD 

a  tree.  It  was  ten  or  a  dozen  feet  wide  and  about 
Txine  feet  high.  It  screened  a  ragged  and  un- 
pleasant view  behind  us,  and  was  really  as  hand- 
some a  property  as  many  an  owner  of  a  private 
park  could  desire.  There  Is  a  hint  for  any  one 
who  cares  to  act  on  It. 

Adjoining  our  yard  was  Its  twin,  but  here  Is 
what  the  owner  did,  and  I  Instance  this  merely 
that  you  may  avoid  It : 


Fig.  7. — I,  Trellis  reared  against  the  house;    2,   summer- 
house;    3,  arbor;   4,  plants;    5,  flower-bed. 


Here  was  architecting  on  an  i8  X  50  with 
a  vengeance.    The  summer-house  and  arbor  were 
53 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

so  heavily  blanketed  with  vines  that  they  were 
dark,  damp  and  soon  grew  rickety,  while  the 
shadows  they  cast  hindered  or  killed  vegetation 
around  them,  and  the  spaces  between  them  and 
the  fence  were  such  wee,  pinched  areas  that  they 
could  not  be  farmed  at  a  profit.  The  covering 
of  this  reservation  with  planks  and  lath  exem- 
plifies a  common  tendency  of  Americans  to  do 
too  much  of  everything.  They  overeat,  over- 
dress, overgain,  overlegislate,  they  cram  too 
much  into  their  houses,  and  up  to  a  certain  time 
of  life  try  to  cram  too  much  into  their  heads. 
The  Japanese  have  something  to  tell  us  in  respect 
of  art  and  life.  They  simplify  them.  The  rich 
man  in  Japan  does  not  show  everything  he  owns. 
He  puts  out  certain  bronzes,  vases,  wall  hang- 
ings, crystals,  carvings  and  the  like  of  that  for  a 
day  or  a  week,  then  retires  them  to  his  chests  and 
cabinets,  and  produces  another  set.  He  would 
as  soon  think  of  wearing  all  his  clothes  at  once 
as  of  showing  all  his  ivories,  porcelains,  netsukes, 
lacquers,  kakemonos  and  embroideries.  We,  on 
the  contrary,  are  so  fond  of  show  and  luxury  that 
we  convert  our  houses  into  shops  and  museums, 
and  the  same  propensity  for  overdoing  is  not 
54 


THE     CITY     YARD 

infrequently  seen  In  country  estates  with  their 
overfrequent  rustic  shelters,  pewter  statuary,  and 
masonry  that  means  nothing  except  a  job  for  the 
mason.  It  is  also  seen  in  yards.  One  yard  in 
my  town  has  a  rockery  which  the  owner  has  be- 
strewn with  statuettes  and  china,  that  I  verily 
think  he  found  in  the  ash-dumps.  He  does  not 
realize  that  a  house  is  better  suited  for  such 
things  than  is  a  place  where  green  will  grow. 
I  have  seen  objects  in  a  yard  that  were  not  artis- 
tic, yet  that  heightened  the  interest  of  locality, 
or  hinted  at  resources  of  place  or  family  history. 
In  quartz  countries,  for  instance,  rockeries  of 
snowy  blocks  and  chunks  of  crystal  connect  the 
yard  with  the  environing  land,  and  in  sundry 
whaling  towns  I  think  we  would  not  spare  the 
ancient  figureheads,  the  flagpoles,  the  ribs  and 
vertebras  of  whales  that  decorate  the  yards,  any 
more  than  the  after-cabins  of  dead  ships  which 
have  been  hauled  up  Into  the  street  to  serve  as 
summer-houses,  kitchens  or  homes  for  the  hum- 
ble. These  things,  which  impart  a  fine,  fishy  flavor 
to  shore  settlements,  are  grotesque  when  trans- 
ferred to  Inland  yards,  unless  by  a  strange  chance 
they  conform  to  some  scheme  of  building  or  deco- 
'  55 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

ration  in  the  house  that  overlooks  them.  A  house 
like  that  of  the  New  York  Yacht  Club,  for  ex- 
ample, which  is  a  fairly  successful,  and  certainly- 
Interesting  attem.pt  to  continue  on  land  a  sugges- 
tion of  the  architecture  of  the  sea,  would  be  en- 
titled to  a  summer-house  In  the  form  of  an  after- 
cabin  in  its  yard,  if  it  had  a  yard;  but  can  any- 
thing be  more  out  of  place  than  a  boat,  serving 
as  jardiniere  or  flower-bed.  In  a  yard  five  miles 
from  water?  So,  if  we  must  have  constructions 
and  other  matters  In  our  ground  that  are  but  re- 
motely germane  to  its  normal  uses,  let  us  have  a 
thought  for  their  fitness.  One  of  the  new-rich 
families  in  New  York  has,  in  the  middle  of  the 
drawing-room,  a  Russian  sleigh,  highly  orna- 
mented with  panel  paintings,  and  a  palm  stands 
on  its  seat.  Palms  are  so  usual  to  Russia;  and 
especially  In  sleighs!  Well,  of  all  the — how- 
ever. It  is  no  worse  than  putting  an  old  carriage 
body  or  boat  or  packing-box  into  the  garden  and 
filling  It  with  flowers;  hardly  so  bad.  In  fact,  be- 
cause hardly  so  obstructive,  as  putting  two  sum- 
mer-houses on  a  strip  fifty  feet  long. 

Assuming  that  we  are  bound  by  the  usual 
conditions  as  to  space  and  flagging,  and  have  to 

56 


THE     CITY     YARD 

deal  with  the  kind  of  yard  figured  In  the  last 
sketch,  we  can  strike  out  a  little  more  boldly  and 
accomplish  this: 


fV&:-:--- 


^^i^ms^^^^mm 


Fig.  8. — I,  Flower-beds;   2,  vase  or  fountain;   3.  a  tree, 
palm,  rustic  bench,  rustic  shelter  or  statue. 


The  scheme  Is  formal,  but  there  are  curves 
to  offset  the  angles,  and  the  vase  and  bench,  the 
distant  object  higher  and  larger  than  the  nearer, 
serve  to  relieve  any  possible  monotony  of  form 
or  color — though,  really,  that  can  hardly  exist 
in  such  a  little  space.  Observe  that  the  nearer 
division  of  the  yard,  which  is  surrounded  by 
walk,  is  left  in  grass,  except  at  its  farther  end. 
57 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

That  enables  Mary  Ann  to  put  out  the  wash 
without  committing  Bulgarian  atrocities  among 
the  pansies.  A  continuous  bed  surrounds  the 
yard,  save  where  it  brings  up  against  the  house, 
and  throws  out  two  little  wings  whereby  it 
almost  encloses  the  second  lawn  also.  A  space 
is  left  between  them  so  as  to  afford  access  to 
this  lawn  without  stepping  across  the  bed.  If 
there  is  much  travel  to  and  fro,  the  path  may 
be  extended  around  the  oval,  and  so  to  the  end 
of  the  yard;  but  so  little  space  is  left  for  grass 
that  it  seems  a  pity  to  sacrifice  any  of  it.  Even 
if  it  is  worn  a  trifle,  it  will  freshen  after  a  wet- 
ting, and  grass  that  is  slightly  injured  is  bet- 
ter than  a  walk  that  Is  not  used.  At  number  2 
a  tall  plant  or  group  of  plants  will  serve  Instead 
of  vase  or  fountain  as  an  effective  center,  but 
remember,  again,  to  make  it  subsidiary  In  height, 
mass  or  color  to  whatever  object  completes  the 
vista  and  occupies  the  place  of  distinction  in  the 
last  bed.  A  piece  of  strong-colored  Chinese  or 
Japanese  porcelain — not  garish,  mind;  only  pos- 
itive— or  a  Japanese  temple  lantern  of  dull 
bronze.  If  It  does  not  wear  too  alien  an  aspect, 
and  Is  half  concealed  by  vines  and  flowers,  will 
58 


THE     CITY     YARD 

serve  at  number  3,  If  the  yard  Is  so  narrow  that  a 
bench,  a  rustic  arbor  or  any  larger  object  would 
appear  disproportionate  to  Its  setting. 

Perhaps  the  yard  has  a  continuous  walk,  In- 
stead of  the  commoner  one  that  cuts  it  asunder, 
and  In  that  case  the  scheme  can  be  modified  In 
this  way: 


m 


-,'M 


fe^ 


^^^^^m^^^mm 


,-c  wa> — I  >vuMv^^ 


Fig.   9. 


Here  the  beds  surround  the  yard,  as  before, 
except  on  the  house  side,  while  In  the  lawn  space 
are  three  other  beds,  progressively  larger  as  they 
recede.  The  effect  of  this  progression  Is  to 
widen  the  yard,  as  the  eye  roves  over  It.  This 
59 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

arrangement  allows  of  the  display  of  many  va- 
rieties of  flowers,  though  it  is  informally  formal 
in  its  simplicity,  and  if  trellises  or  wire  net  are 
added  to  the  fence,  as  carriers  for  vines,  and 
thus  give  more  color  and  seclusion  to  your  Hora- 
tian  estates,  the  neighbors  will  probably  call 
oftener  than  they  did.  Mary  Ann,  you  see,  still 
has  the  freedom  of  the  first  ten  feet,  and  I  must 
remind  you  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  plant 
clothes-poles  for  her.  Nowadays  it  is  usual  to 
extend  two  beams  across  the  yard,  running  from 
an  upright  on  one  fence  to  the  other.  The 
clothes-lines  are  strung  from  beam  to  beam, 
fastened  to  hooks,  and  a  stout  tug  will  haul  the 
line  so  taut  that  poles  will  not  be  needed  to  sup- 
port it.  This  is  an  advantage,  for  poles  may 
fall  and  smash  your  ageratum  or  your  salpiglossis 
— the  same  being  no  part  of  the  human  system. 
Mary  Ann's  fingers  are  usually  buttered  when 
she  clutches  any  domestic  materials  that  you  es- 
pecially wish  she  hadn't. 

A  modification  of  this  plan  is  shown  in 
Fig.  10. 

As  for  the  walk,  it  ought  to  be  narrow. 
Eighteen  inches  is  enough.  You  will  doubtless 
60 


THE     CITY     YARD 

make  It  of  gravel,  If  you  have  the  say  so,  and  It 
certainly  agrees  best  with  the  ground,  so  far  as 
appearances  go.  Stone  and  brick,  though  ugly, 
have  their  advantages :  weeds  and  grass  do  not 
grow  on  them,  It  costs  no  trouble  to  keep  them 


Fig.  io.  —  I,  Flower-beds;   2,  trees. 

clean,  they  are  not  kicked  up  and  put  Into  dis- 
array by  heavy  or  shuffling  feet,  and  they  are  a 
check  against  weeds  In  the  borders.  It  Is  not 
easy  to  repress  the  grass  when  It  has  no  greater 
obstacle  than  gravel,  which  will  be  moistened  In 
the  showerlngs,  but  It  stops  when  it  touches  as- 
phalt or  flagstones.  And  if  you  would  avoid 
61 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

trouble  on  this  score,  let  your  garden-beds  come 
plumb  to  the  edge  of  the  walk,  instead  of  leav- 
mg  the  usual  strip  of  grass  between  them.  The 
grass  will  never  leave  off  trying  to  possess  itself 
of  the  whole  premises,  and  the  fight  against  it, 
when  it  determines  to  go  where  it  does  not  be- 
long, will  be  unremitting.  There  is  one  variety, 
a  coarse  and  riotous  sort,  known  as  witch-grass, 
that  is  downright  uncanny  in  its  sneaking  and  its 
strenuousness.  You  are  transplanting  a  mignon- 
ette, perhaps,  out  of  a  crowded  spot  into  a  roomy 
one,  and  have  thrust  your  trowel  four  or  five 
inches  into  the  earth,  when  you  strike  a  long, 
white,  ropy  root.  Get  a  firm  grip,  and  lift  it,  by 
successive  pulls,  moving  your  hold  nearer  and 
nearer  to  its  starting-place,  until  you  reach  its 
origin  under  a  bunch  of  witch-grass  and  pluck 
the  whole  thing.  You  will  find  that  the  bunch 
has  thrown  out  a  star  of  these  roots,  some  of 
them  two  feet  long,  which  are  boring  and  explor- 
ing in  all  directions,  quite  thankful  to  you  for 
loosening  and  fertilizing  the  soil  for  them  in  the 
spring,  and  from  each  of  these  runners  blades 
are  starting  toward  the  air.  In  turn  these  blades 
will  become  deeply  anchored,  and  will  send  out 
62 


THE     CITY     YARD 

root  scouts  to  found  new  colonies.  If  witch-grass 
gets  into  your  yard  it  is  almost  worth  while  to 
spade  it  up  from  end  to  end,  chopping  and  over- 
turning the  sod  to  freeze  and  rot  it  through  the 
winter,  and  making  a  fresh  start  with  lawn-grass 
seed  as  soon  as  the  snow  is  off.  The  war  against 
weeds  in  the  yard  is,  in  object  and  effect,  so  like 
the  war  against  the  weeds  and  parasites  in  human 
society  that  one  can  readily  forbear  to  publish 
any  parables  on  the  topic.  Where  a  walk  occurs 
between  a  lawn  and  a  garden-bed,  especially  if  it 
is  a  flagged  walk,  the  grass  roots  are  less  apt  to 
cross  it  than  they  are  to  underlap  a  space  imme- 
diately adjoining.  Thus,  in  one  way,  it  means 
economy  of  labor  to  have  as  much  walk  as  pos- 
sible, and  we  have  all  seen  "  gardens  "  behind 
city  houses  that  consisted  entirely  of  flagstones, 
to  Mary  Ann's  resounding  joy,  and  the  pained 
astonishment  of  moths,  potato-bugs  and  persons 
who  drifted  into  them.  Let  us  pray  not  to  have 
that  sort  of  a  garden  ourselves,  and  to  the  end 
that  we  may  not,  we  will  continue  our  devising. 
Only,  before  leaving  the  subject  of  grass,  let  me 
caution  you  against  making  flower-beds  in  the 
form  of  stars  or  anchors,  or  human  beings,  be- 

63 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

cause  the  slender  points  of  soil  exposed  in  the 
outlining  of  such  extravagant  devices  are  easily 
crossed  by  grass  roots,  and  by  reason  of  their  nar- 
rowness are  hard  to  reach  with  a  hoe,  except  by 
disturbing  the  roots  of  flowers  and  plants  of 
showy  foliage  that  you  may  have  set  out  there. 
If  you  have  been  so  unwise  as  to  make  a  star  bed 
with  long  points  In  a  yard  containing  witch-grass, 
you  may  as  well  decide  to  sit  up  all  night  with 
it  and  keep  the  grass  out.  If  the  people  on  either 
side  of  you,  or  behind  you,  have  allowed  this 
dreaded  vegetable  to  establish  itself  on  their 
premises,  it  will  surely  crawl  under  your  fence, 
and  the  remedy  Is  to  spade  deeply,  vigorously 
and  frequently  all  around  that  partition.  It  is 
one  advantage  of  a  brick  wall,  such  as  we  seldom 
use  in  cities  any  more,  that  forbidden  growths 
do  not  reach  beneath  It. 

Supposing  that  you  have  the  usual  yard,  but 
without  walks,  so  that  you  are  at  liberty  to  lay 
off  your  own,  you  can  scheme  one  to  this  ef- 
fect, which,  as  you  observe.  Is  merely  a  modi- 
fication of  Fig.  2 ;  a  compromise.  If  you  like.  In 
that  it  gives  some  direct  path,  and  less  of  the 
oval. 

64 


A    GARDEN    AND    SOMETHING    MORE. 


.»  *  ,.  '      x4f 


ON    THE    OUTER    EDGE    OF    A    CITY. 


THE     CITY     YARD 


it^^i^l^'^ 


Fig.    II. — I,  Flower-beds. 

By  lengthening  the  walk  at  A,  In  the  farther 
end  of  the  yard,  setting  box  borders  on  either 
side  of  it  and  placing  bay-trees,  spruces  or  tubbed 
saplings  in  rows  outside  the  box,  a  pretty  vista 
will  be  made  that  ought,  of  course,  to  end 
importantly,  for  an  avenue  of  vegetation  is  a 
promise :  you  expect  it  to  lead  to  something. 
Therefore,  in  pursuance  of  the  formality  thus  ex- 
pressed, it  is  fitting  to  end  it  with  a  statue,  alcove, 
arbor,  rustic  chair  or  bench.  Should  a  bench  be 
put  there,  it  may  gain  dignity  and  the  occupants 
of  It  can  secure  shade  If  It  is  protected  by  wire 
fencing,  the  same  to  be  covered  with  climbing 

65 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

roses  or  honeysuckle,  the  arch  rising  to  a  height 
of,  say,  nine  feet. 

Still  following  the  formalities,  we  can  go 
back  to  straight  lines,  and  use  them  Indirectly 
in  a  diamond  pattern  like  this: 


Fig.    12. 

It  would  be  gorgeous,  Indeed,  If  you  could 
cover  the  whole  of  the  diamond  with  flowers, 
planting  canna  In  the  middle,  then  gladioli,  then 
dianthus,  phlox,  love-lies-bleeding,  cockscomb 
and  other  flowers  of  red  or  ruddy  hue  till  the  pro- 
gression ended  at  the  walk  in  a  border  of  the 
red  alternanthera,  or  of  ruddy  coleus.  The  tri- 
66 


THE      CITY     YARD 

angular  corners  marked  B  could  be  filled  by  tall 
and  bushy  plants — nothing  better  for  this  than 
stout  old  roses.  The  hindrances  to  the  plan  are 
Mary  Ann's  feet,  for  she  has  so  few  other  places 
to  plant  them  that  flowers  must  serve;  and  again 
we  have  been  a  wee  bit  sparing  of  grass,  unless 
the  neighbors  have  a  deal  of  it  that  is  in  view 
from  our  own  premises.  Also,  the  divergent 
walks  seem  indirect  for  direct  and  wakeful  peo- 
ple. The  floriculture  could,  therefore,  be  re- 
stricted to  a  circle  in  the  middle  of  the  diamond. 
A  combination  of  the  last  two  plans  can  also  be 
expressed  in  this : 


•^^ 


Fig.    13.  —  I,  Flower-beds  ;   2,  statue  or  lantern. 

67 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

This,  like  some  of  the  other  gardens,  must 
be  laid  off  by  permission  of  the  kitchen  powers, 
for  if  they  decide  for  clothes,  the  clothes  must 
have  more  space  and  their  wearers  will  accustom 
themselves  to  self-denial  and  hard-boiled  shirts. 

It  will  be  noted  that  of  the  flower-beds  thus 
far,  or  to  be  shown,  all  are  of  simple  form.  I 
am  opposed  to  "  carpets,"  at  least  in  yards,  and 
to  pictures  and  mottoes,  and  to  topiary  and  all 
extravagances  of  artifice.  There  may,  possibly, 
be  occasion  for  beds  in  the  shape  of  harps,  clocks, 
flags,  houses  and  lions,  but  such  occasions  can  not 
occur  in  the  home  garden  whereof  we  treat.  In 
brief,  I  am  opposed  to  difficulty  for  its  own  sake. 
There  may  be  virtue  in  the  postulate  of  art  for 
art's  sake,  and  acrobatics  for  hardship's  sake, 
and  Maine  laws  for  the  land's  sake,  but  it  would 
be  an  easier,  pleasanter  world  if  we  applied  our 
strength  to  changing  things  for  the  better,  in- 
stead of  making  things  to  change,  then  changing 
them  to  what  they  are  now.  Simple  things  are 
the  comprehensible,  the  agreeable,  the  perma- 
nent, and  the  universe  prefers  them.  Therefore, 
let  us  not  be  above  them  In  our  gardens. 

Because  of  the  smallness  of  space  in  a  yard, 
68 


THE      CITY     YARD 

It  is  better  not  to  have  It  cut  up  or  divided  by- 
fences,  but  a  change  In  level  from  front  to  rear 
may  make  It  compulsory  to  terrace  It,  say,  across 
the  middle.  If  It  Is  a  sharp  change,  or  If  shifting 
sand  makes  It  hard  to  bank  It,  the  rise  of  the  ter- 
race can  be  vertical  and  faced  with  masonry — a 
thing  commonly  to  be  avoided  In  a  small  space. 
This  retaining  wall  can  be  covered  with  vines  or 
tall  plants,  save  at  the  center,  where  a  flight  of 
two  or  three  steps  could  give  access  to  the  higher 
ground.  If  the  economies  have  to  be  consulted, 
these  steps  will  doubtless  be  driven  Into  the  ter- 
race, and  will  be  no  wider  than  necessary;  but  If 
the  expense  can  be  afforded  It  is  better  to  have 
them  extend  from  the  terrace  in  widening  cres- 
cents— marble  against  greenery.  Should  it  be 
possible  merely  to  slope  the  terrace  and  cover  the 
slope  with  turf,  instead  of  holding  the  upper  sec- 
tion in  place  by  stone,  the  flight  of  steps  will  be 
all  the  more  graceful.     Here  Is  the  plan. 

This  assumes  that  the  back  of  the  yard  is 
higher  than  the  house  foundation.  If  the  to- 
pography is  the  reverse  of  this,  little  change  is 
called  for,  except  to  turn  the  steps  the  other  way 
and  to  plant  taller  shrubs  in  the  distant  half  of 

69 


LITTLE     GARDENS 


Fig. 


the  yard,  that  they  may  be  seen  more  readily 
from  the  lower  windows.  As  a  terrace  pertains 
to  formal  gardens,  we  can  use  a  little  more  strict- 
ness of  form  here  than  we  might  wish  to  apply  to 
a  level,  and  the  upper  portion,  being  pedestaled 
into  a  certain  adventitious  dignity,  we  can  use 
a  fountain  at  A,  or  a  statue  under  an  arch  of 
roses  at  B,  with  less  compunction  than  if  they 
were  just  under  the  clothes-lines. 

It  sometimes  happens  that  the  back  of  the 
yard  abuts  on  a  lower  terrain,  in  which  case  you 
will  be  constantly  losing  real  estate  to  your  neigh- 
70 


THE      CITY     YARD 

bor,  after  a  shower.  Or,  It  may  be  that  you  have 
an  open  fence  there,  or  no  fence,  or  that  you  are 
resolved  on  raising  your  own  lettuce  or  straw- 
berries. In  that  case  a  hedge  is  excusable,  and 
might  be  laid  off  in  this  form: 


Fig.    15. — I,  Flower-beds;     2,    the  hedges;    3,   the  focal 
point  or  vista  end. 

This  plan  is  easily  modified;  the  middle  bed 
can  be  made  square,  or  diamond  shaped,  or  what 
not.  Its  main  points  are  the  concealment  of 
space  behind  the  hedges,  for  vegetables,  or.  If 
there  is  nothing  to  conceal,  it  is  still  a  good  place 
for  trees.  .  If  the  ground  just  behind  this  area 

71 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

Is  lower,  It  Is  wise  to  plant  tough  shrubs  along 
the  edge  of  the  declivity  and  plant  them  thickly, 
in  order  to  knit  the  soil  together,  and  prevent 
little  landshdes  that  will  eat  back  Into  your  yard 
and  provide  valleys  and  canons  that  you  do  not 
want.  The  curve  of  the  hedges  gradually 
straightens,  merging  them  into  a  row  of  bushes 
on  either  side  of  the  yard.  In  harmony  with  this, 
it  Is  permissible  to  border  the  walk,  all  the  way, 
with  box,  a  charming  accessory  of  the  old-fash- 
ioned garden,  when  well  used,  for  the  Idea  of  a 
border  agrees  with  that  of  a  hedge,  and  the  box, 
In  Its  compact  growth,  toughness  of  stem,  and 
opulent  green.  Is  the  privet  In  little.  Farther- 
more,  a  trellis  could  be  constructed  at  the  back, 
as  shield  against  an  offending  prospect  and  back- 
ground for  a  bust,  if  you  want  to  put  one  there — 
my  pen  came  near  to  writing,  "  or  have  one." 
Horrible  thought ! 

Should  this  notion  of  hedging  the  end  of  the 
yard  please  you  so  well  that  you  decide  to  take 
more  room  there,  to  the  end  that  you  might  have 
a  nook  where  you  could  take  your  sewing  or  your 
tea,  or  where  you  could  read  while  little  Jonas 
tumbled  on  the  grass,  the  line  of  privet  could  be 
72 


THE      CITY     YARD 

set  forward,  straightened,  allowed  to  grow  to  Its 
full  height  of  twelve  feet,  the  trellis  could  be 
carried  around  three  sides  of  the  enclosure,  and 
raised  to  the  same  height,  and  if  all  that  did  not 
protect  you  from  observation  and  sunshine,  a 
strip  of  light  awning  could  be  extended  over  a 
part  of  the  space,  attaching  Its  ends  to  the  trellis. 
Here,  In  the  evening,  chairs  and  tables  could  be 
brought,  Japanese  lanterns  could  be  hung  and 
the  family  could  gossip  over  the  demi-tasse  and 
cigar,  while  mingling  with  the  fragrance  of  the 
Havana  would  come  the  odors  of  the  related 
nicotlana,  setting  Its  pale  lamps  for  the  lure  of 
moths  In  the  twilight. 

Water  brings  light  and  hfe  Into  the  dullest 
landscape,  and  It  has  been  used  pleasantly  In  gar- 
dens, even  of  the  city.  I  hesitate  to  commend  It 
in  the  yard,  however,  because  of  the  mosquitoes 
that  breed  In  it.  For  It  Is  amusing  to  listen  to 
the  talk  of  draining,  burning  and  oiling  the  Jer- 
sey and  Long  Island  meadows,  knowing  that  the 
talkers  continue  to  place  fire-tanks  on  their  roofs 
in  town,  where  millions  of  culex  and  anopheles 
get  themselves  born,  and  descend  Into  the  streets 
to  prey  on  the  multitude.    One  usually  has  to  be 

73 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

saving  of  water  In  a  city.  Our  towns  are  grow- 
ing so  large  that  the  supplying  of  necessities  to 
them  Is  becoming  a  serious  problem.  Hence,  It 
Is  not  possible  to  have  reservoirs  In  a  yard  where 
the  water  shall  flow  constantly,  and  so  surely  as  It 
stagnates,  so  surely  will  the  mosquito  lay  her 
eggs  upon  It,  wigglers  will  develop,  and  for  the 
rest  of  the  summer  you  will  visit  your  garden 
only  In  gloves  and  veils,  or  under  cover  of  a 
smudge  that  will  destroy  all  the  sweetness  of  the 
flowers.  If  you  do  live  In  one  of  those  rare 
towns  that  have  water  enough,  and  clear  water, 
and  can  afford  to  change  It  once  or  twice  a  day 
— for  It  won't  do  to  kill  the  mosquito  larvae  by 
oiling  it,  on  account  of  the  odor  and  look  of  It 
afterward — It  Is  best  to  place  the  pit  or  tank  at 
the  back  of  the  yard.  A  cement  reservoir  ten 
feet  across,  three  feet  deep,  with  a  curb  raised  a 
foot  above  the  ground  is  ample,  but  half  of  a 
hogshead,  sunk  In  the  earth,  will  cost  much 
less,  though  In  each  case  you  have  to  meditate 
upon  the  necessity  of  engaging  a  plumber.  In 
this  aquatic  garden  you  may  raise  papyrus,  lotus, 
water-hyacinth,  and  water-lily,  and  It  has  one 
advantage  over  the  flower-bed  in  that  you  do 
74 


THE      CITY     YARD 

not  have  to  cut  away  the  overhanging  growths 
to  afford  h'ght  to  it.  On  the  contrary,  if  your 
yard  were  big  enough  for  trees  of  a  drooping 
habit,  the  very  place  for  them  would  be  near 
this  pool,  where  their  inverted  image  paints  it- 
self against  the  reflected  pattern  of  the  sky.  If 
it  is  deemed  safe  to  omit  the  curbing,  all  the 
better,  and  the  installation  of  the  tank  makes  the 
fountain  easily  possible,  because  it  makes  some 
equivalent  imperative:  that  is,  you  must  get 
water  into  the  tank  after  you  have  built  it.  The 
flower-beds  near  the  water  will  be  refreshed  by 
the  spray,  and  both  beds  and  pond  will  gain  in 
charm  from  one  another.  If  you  have  such  a 
pond,  the  water-flowers  can  be  grown  there  in 
heavy,  porous  boxes,  sunk  at  the  bottom  and 
filled  with  loam  and  compost.  And  after  the 
water  clears  it  is  well  to  introduce  gold  and  sil- 
ver fish,  not  for  appearance'  sake  alone,  but  be- 
cause they  purify  the  pond,  consuming  worms 
and  insects  that  may  fall  into  it.  If,  for  any 
reason,  fish  are  undesirable,  try,  by  all  means, 
to  persuade  some  dragon-flies,  or  devil's  darning- 
needles,  to  inhabit  near.  These  beautiful  crea- 
tures, the  terror  of  the  ignorant,  who  believe  that 

IS 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

they  will  sting  and  even  "  sew  up  people's  ears," 
are  absolutely  harmless,  and  they  are  voracious 
feeders  on  the  mosquitoes,  that  will  breed  in 
your  lake  if  it  is  allowed  to  stagnate.  The 
dragon-flies  eat  mosquitoes,  both  in  the  larval 
and  winged  states. 

Possibly  you  are  so  unfortunate  as  not  merely 
to  be  short  of  water,  in  which  case  an  aquatic 
garden  is  hopeless,  but  of  soil.  Your  yard  may  be 
of  sand,  or  builders'  rubbish,  in  which  not  even 
purslain  will  grow.  Well,  luckier  men  have  had 
to  contend  with  harder  problems.  The  mansions 
on  Nob  Hill,  in  San  Francisco,  are  builded  on 
sand  that  is  little  more  fertile  than  a  plate,  or 
stove-lid,  yet  by  sodding,  fertilizing  and  water- 
ing it  has  been  surfaced  and  is  as  green  as  the 
parks  of  Eastern  cities.  This  takes  time  and 
some  money,  and  circumstances  not  unconnected 
with  the  latter  commodity  may  oblige  you  to  cre- 
ate your  garden  by  degrees.  In  the  first  year 
you  may  have  to  consider  most  of  it  as  walk, 
raking  up  the  coarser  materials  and  strewing 
gravel  over  the  paths.  Yet,  you  can  doubtless 
buy  three  or  four  loads  of  good  loam;  you  may 
even  have  it  of  some  lot  owner  for  the  asking, 

76 


THE      CITY     YARD 

If  you  win  pay  the  cartage.  In  that  case  a  spar- 
ing array  of  beds  may  presage  a  larger  one — 
some  such  device  as  this: 


.-■-•rs:: 


Fig.    1 6. 

Here  Is  another  device  for  a  stony  yard 
where  the  earth  has  to  be  Imported.  The  focus, 
In  this  case,  Is  at  the  side. 

You  can  surround  each  of  these  httle  beds 
with  box,  so  that  when  you  are  able  to  throw  on 
more  soil  the  plan  will  remain  until  such  time  as 
the  yard  Is  covered,  and  you  can  undertake  plant- 
ing on  a  larger  scale.  A  few  prefer  a  frame  of 
box  for  the  floral  picture  under  all  circumstances, 
77 


LITTLE     GARDENS 


.^^^ 


hmi,m!>>mfi^^.-^-h- 


Fig.    1 7. 

and  cultivate  a  close  little  hedge  of  it,  a  foot  or 
more  high,  about  every  bed,  even  such  as  are 
devoted  to  vegetables.  Borders  are  needed 
when  the  beds  are  surrounded  by  graveled  walks, 
but  not  when  they  are  merely  openings  in  the 
grass.  They  belong  to  the  formal  garden,  and 
spaces  cut  in  the  lawn  are  less  formal  in  their 
aspect.  The  delicious  old  gardens  at  Mount  Ver- 
non, that  have  been  growing  more  beautiful  since 
George  Washington  cultivated  them,  illustrate 
the  use  of  borders.  The  beds  are  so  sunk  in  box 
that  they  suggest  being  packed  in  boxes.  They 
heighten  the  pleasant  primness  of  a  formal  gar- 

78 


THE      CITY     YARD 

den,  to  be  sure,  and  suggest  the  tea-cup  times  of 
cup  and  hood,  as  they  are  suggested  in  old  family 
silver,  four-posted  beds  and  wax  candles.  Where 
formalism  is  admitted,  I  own  to  an  enjoyment  of 
hedges  and  borders  that  are  clipped  down  to  a 
definite  height  and  show  vertical  sides.     They 
go  with  smooth-shaven  lawns  and  flower-beds  of 
geometric  outline.     But  pray  stop  there.     Don't 
distort  your  poor   cedar,   yew,   privet,    box  or 
Osage  orange  Into  a  crowing  cock,  a  rampant 
bear,  or  an  heraldic  dragon.    Don't  deceive  your- 
self into  supposing  that  you  commend  the  tree 
when  you  ask  your  friends  to  admire  It.     You 
are  merely  requesting  praise  for  your  own  mis- 
placed cleverness,  and  one  of  these  days  the  So- 
ciety for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Trees  may 
hear  about  you.     There  may  be  an  occasion  for 
trimming  a  tree  Into  a  cube,  a  cylinder,  a  column, 
a  globe,  an  umbrella,  or  a  cone,  though  I  can't 
Imagine  it,  and  In  these  shapes  we  see,  reduced 
to  precision,  some  forms  that  trees  will  hint  at 
on  their  own  initiative;  but  a  tree  never  willingly 
posed  as  a  likeness  of  a  giraffe,  or  a  gentleman  in 
a  cocked  hat,  or  a  corkscrew,  or  a  decanter,  and 
it  Is  an  outrage  on  vegetable  dignity  to  ask  It. 
79 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

In  the  square-topped  hedge  or  row,  the  effect 
is  different.  We  feel  it  with  the  eye  as  part  in  a 
plan  of  garden  architecture,  its  firm,  level  lines 
are  restful,  it  substitutes  itself  for  a  wall;  hence, 
it  takes  its  form,  it  thickens,  moreover,  with 
trimming,  so  as  to  serve  all  the  better  as  parti- 
tion. Topiary,  or  tree  sculpture,  is  especially 
ridiculous  in  small  spaces.  It  is  not  formalism: 
it  Is  grotesquery.    Have  none  of  it. 

In  sum,  I  would  say  that  in  the  treatment  of 
a  city  yard  be  moderately  formal — that  is,  sym- 
metrical— in  a  formal  place;  give  to  trees  their 
natural  form,  lopping  only  straggling  and  ob- 
structive growths;  hide  the  fence  with  vegeta- 
tion; group  the  flowers  by  sizes  and  colors; 
strive  for  broad,  massive  effects;  avoid  the  fin- 
ical and  higgledy-piggledy;  raise  grass;  use  orna- 
ment with  frugality  and  caution,  but  have  a 
focus  of  interest,  which  need  not  be  a  geometric 
center. 


80 


Ill 

THE    COUNTRY   YARD 

In  the  yard  of  the  village  house — not  the 
summer  villa  with  its  acres,  but  the  country  home 
of  country  people — there  is  room  for  more  di- 
versity and  opportunity  for  larger  effects  than  in 
town,  for  the  yard  is  moderately  sure  to  be  larger 
than  that  of  a  city  house.  The  possibilities  of 
beauty  and  interest  in  gardens  increase  as  the 
squares  of  their  area.  Yet  I  think  that  the  same 
rules  for  garden-making  hold  in  the  country  as 
in  the  town,  namely,  that  there  should  be  sim- 
plicity instead  of  extravagance,  masses  instead 
of  scatterings,  law  instead  of  lawlessness  in  re- 
spect of  color  and  form,  and  that  there  should 
be  a  focus,  or  point  of  interest,  or  constructional 
center.  In  the  country,  however,  the  point  of 
Interest  need  not  be  in  the  ground  itself.  If  your 
house  commands  a  view  of  a  conspicuous  moun- 
tain, or  an  expanse  of  lake,  or  a  handsome  clump 
of  wood,  or  a  prospect  of  a  village  with  a  white 
8i 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

spire  rising  above  the  trees,  this  can  be  the  focus : 
the  point  toward  which  the  lines  of  your  garden 
will  tend.  A  picture  has  this  dominant  note  of 
form,  light  or  color,  and  Its  other  parts  are  sub- 
ordinate to  this.  If  it  is  otherwise,  the  effect  is 
confusing,  for  Instead  of  a  balance  of  light  and 
shade  there  will  be  a  hundred  little  lights  and 
shades,  each  demanding  the  same  attention  as 
the  rest.  Such  a  picture  tires  one  after  a  little 
while.  There  Is  no  repose  in  it.  We  may  not 
admire  a  street,  for  it  may  be  shabby,  crowded, 
discordant  in  color;  but  the  convergence  of  its 
architectural  lines  toward  the  vanishing-point  re- 
duces it  to  a  certain  simplicity,  which  in  itself 
is  dignity,  and  creates  a  subtle  satisfaction.  Far 
finer  are  those  vistas  where  the  vanishing-point 
is  intercepted  by  some  object  of  beauty,  and 
where  the  perspective  is  marked,  not  by  build- 
ings, but  by  trees,  or  hedges,  or  borders.  The 
view  of  St.  Peter's  from  some  of  the  Roman  gar- 
dens, the  Pincian,  for  example,  and  the  view 
from  the  Soldiers'  Home,  at  Washington,  known 
as  Capitol  Vista,  both  showing  aisles  and  arches 
of  green  that  end  in  splendid  domes,  exemplify 
this  point. 

82 


THE     COUNTRY     YARD 

Of  course,  it  may  easily  happen  in  the  coun- 
try as  elsewhere,  that  the  objective  point  for  a 
garden  composition  will  be  lacking.  Instead  of 
opening  up  the  paths  and  alleys  on  your  home 
ground,  it  may  be  desired  to  lead  them  nowhere, 
because  they  might  otherwise  carry  the  eye  to  a 
factory,  a  stable,  a  stone  heap,  a  dump,  a  neg- 
lected farm,  a  freight  shed  or  some  such  un- 
agreeable matter.  In  a  case  like  that  you  can 
do  no  better  than  build  a  hedge  and  close  the 
view  entirely,  treating  your  space  thereafter 
in  substantially  the  same  manner  as  the  city 
yard. 

In  the  country  we  do  not  hide  our  horticul- 
ture from  the  eyes  of  men,  because  we  do  not 
erect  big  rows  of  flats  and  shops  between  our 
gardens  and  the  road.  A  country  house  de- 
mands a  margin.  It  will  have  a  yard  in  front, 
as  well  as  a  space  at  the  side  or  back.  Hence  it 
has  room  for  show,  to  put  it  vulgarly;  for  the 
manner  has  never  obtained  with  us,  and  let  us 
pray  it  never  will,  of  building  villages  solidly,  in 
blocks,  as  they  do  in  parts  of  France  and  Eng- 
land— a  fashion  passed  down  from  the  time 
when  the  peasantry  clung  for  employment  and 

83 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

protection  about  the  foundations  of  the  castle, 
and  when  it  was  cheaper  and  easier  for  their  lord 
to  tell  them  off  in  rows  than  to  build  detached 
shelters  for  them.  Possibly  this  very  cutting  off 
of  some  of  the  people  from  the  fields  has  led 
them  to  prize  the  beauty  of  the  fields  the  more; 
and  we  have  to  admit  tliat  among  the  British  cot- 
ters, the  garden,  simple  as  they  make  it,  is  a 
source  of  more  care  and  satisfaction  than  among 
many  in  our  country,  although  the  growing  of 
flowers  is  now  general  in  America.  Gardens,  if 
no  bigger  than  bedrooms,  are  attached  to  most 
of  the  English  cottages,  and  odd  makeshifts  are 
often  seen  in  the  attempt  to  force  a  growth  of 
flowers  where  Americans  would  never  think  of 
planting  them.  It  is  better  to  cultivate  a  rood 
of  space  as  if  you  meant  it  than  to  plant  a  whole 
acre  and  leave  it  to  the  weeds  and  the  elements. 
And  in  this  country,  where  land  is  so  abundant, 
and  so  cheap,  we  neglect  it.  We  have  too  many 
shabby  farms  and  seedy  gardens.  When  an 
Englishman  has  a  few  feet  of  space,  he  makes  it 
count  for  something.  In  Bridge  End,  Warwick, 
a  street  of  old  brick-and-timber  cottages  has  per- 
mitted no  grace  and  comfort  of  shade  and  lawn, 
84 


THE     COUNTRY     YARD 

every  house  being  separated  from  its  neighbor 
by  a  party  wall,  and  plumping  itself  as  full  upon 
the  highway  as  it  dares;  yet  along  the  front  of 
these  dwellings  runs  the  merest  strip  of  soil, 
curbed  away  from  the  walk,  and  showing, 
through  the  summer,  a  mass  of  fine,  old-fash- 
ioned bloom.  This  communal  park,  which  is, 
maybe,  a  foot  and  a  half  wide,  masks,  or  rather 
softens,  the  quaint  buildings,  and  gives  to  them 
a  pecuhar  picturesqueness.  The  effect  would  be 
worth  copying  if  we  built  and  bedded  that  way, 
but  in  America  we  are  doing  better:  we  are 
taking  down  our  fences  and  converting  wide  dis- 
tricts into  a  continuous  garden.  The  newer  parts 
of  the  beautiful  city  of  Hartford  are  a  revelation 
of  what  may  be  accomplished  by  a  community 
that  has  civic  spirit,  good  taste  and  good  neigh- 
borship. On  the  edge  of  the  town  even  the  trol- 
ley posts  are  half  hid  in  vines,  and  one  of  the 
ugliest  incidents  of  our  streets  is  thus  converted 
to  charm. 

It  is  not  everywhere  that  the  fence  can  be 

abolished.     In  a  visit  to  a  socialist  community 

in  Illinois  I  was  puzzled  by  the  number  and 

stoutness  of  the  fences.    The  disappearing  fence 

85 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

in  our  part  of  the  world  means  advancing  so- 
cialism; yet  here,  in  the  stronghold  of  the  faith, 
were  the  assertions  of  individual  right  in  prop- 
erty. I  asked  the  reason.  "  Sure,  you  don't 
suppose  we  could  raise  anything  in  our  yard," 
came  the  answer,  "  if  it  wasn't  for  the  fence? 
The  people  next  door  keep  hens." 

Yet  there  is  little  need  for  fences  unless  it  is 
where  cattle  abound.  A  low  wall  will  keep  them 
out,  and  the  wall  can  be  covered  with  vines.  The 
hedge  is  a  still  better  safeguard  against  cows  and 
tramps,  unless  it  is  so  savory  that  the  cows  eat 
their  way  through  it;  it  grows  stouter  instead  of 
weaker  every  year;  it  is  handsome  and  grows 
handsomer,  while  the  fence  grows  rickety;  the 
advertising  fiend  can  not  misuse  it,  and  it  merges 
the  surrounded  property  into  its  rural  environ- 
ment. Wire  fencing  has  the  merit  of  unobtru- 
siveness,  but  if  you  expect  to  go  to  heaven  do 
not  use  barbed  wire.  I  am  not  punning  when  I 
say  it  is  barbaric.  Let  your  fence  be  a  hedge, 
thin  and  tall,  low  and  chunky,  according  to  your 
neighbors  and  your  tastes.  The  Englishman 
likes  his  high.  He  demands  privacy.  He  will 
erect  a  stone  wall  inside  his  hedge,  if  need  be, 
86 


THE     COUNTRY     YARD 

and  strew  broken  bottles  over  the  top,  that 
poachers  and  burglars  may  cut  their  blooming 
fingers  off  when  they  try  to  climb  over  it.  He 
will  spoil  the  view  from  a  country  road,  and 
spoil  his  own,  by  blocking  the  prospect  in  this 
fashion,  and  will  scare  the  stranger  by  an  ex- 
hibit of  "  No  Trespass  "  signs  in  his  cabbage- 
patch — signs  such  as  have  likewise  appeared  in 
our  country  within  the  last  forty  years.  The 
American  seldom  wants  privacy;  isolation  yet 
more  rarely.  Democracy  seems  to  be  preparing 
the  way  for  a  closer  social  compact,  in  which  in- 
dividualism must  suffer.  As  a  token  of  it  we 
consider  privacy  so  little  that  we  bring  the  house 
close  to  the  road,  in  order  to  see  the  wagons  pass, 
whereas  it  is  in  better  taste  and  for  better  com- 
fort, to  withdraw  it  by  at  least  a  dozen  or  a  hun- 
dred feet.  Then  you  have  some  beauty  and  dig- 
nity of  setting;  you  do  not  cheapen  yourself  by 
asking  the  public  to  look  in  at  your  windows,  and 
to  listen  to  the  carols  of  Mary  Ann  at  the  tubs. 
You  may  also  have  an  avenue  before  your  house, 
and  if  you  plan  this  deftly,  not  only  may  you  lead 
it  toward  the  road,  but  make  it  a  vista  with  some 
notable  passage  of  scenery  at  the  end — a  road 
7  87 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

whereby   the   spirit   shall    adventure    into    new 
spaces. 

In  the  country,  more  than  in  the  city,  the 
garden  is  a  part  of  the  establishment.  It  may 
be  a  dozen  of  geraniums  or  petunias,  or  a  few 
sunflowers,  struggling  toward  the  sun,  but  it  has 
an  esthetic  meaning  in  itself,  and  it  relates  the 
house  to  the  landscape.  A  country  garden  be- 
comes a  part  of  the  dwelling  of  the  mind — part 
of  that  outlook  for  which  we  forsake  cities,  and 
that  opens  to  us  distances  and  eternities  that 
towns  conceal.  You  will,  therefore,  cultivate 
your  garden  as  if  you  meant  to  live  with  it.  It 
will  not  be  the  brief  and  little  solace  of  a  city 
yard.  Its  trees,  bushes  and  perennials  will  bloom 
in  your  affection;  they  will  be  fixtures,  like  the 
weathering  porches  of  your  house;  like  your  old 
horse,  your  playful  hens,  your  pranksome  dog, 
and  your  fruitful  cow.  You  will  learn  to  watch 
for  the  budding  of  your  annuals  in  the  spring; 
you  will  have  a  calendar  of  the  seasons  at  your 
windov/.  You  may  even  learn  to  forecast  the 
weather  from  the  conduct  of  your  garden  and  its 
animal  visitors;  for  they  tell  us  that  pimpernel, 
or  shepherd's  weather-glass,  opens  when  sunny 
88 


THE     COUNTRY     YARD 

weather  promises  overhead,  and  partly  or  wholly 
closes  when  storms  are  brewing;  at  least,  the 
English  peasantrv  believe  so.  Goatsbeard  and 
marigold  also  fold  together  when  it  darkens,  and 
we  have  all  seen  the  sleep  of  oxalis.  Country- 
men have  observed  that  when  the  air  is  clear, 
when  tish  dart  about,  when  stagnant  water  smells, 
when  frogs  look  dull  in  color,  when  swallows  fly 
low,  when  cobs  come  out  of  their  webs  more 
freely  than  in  sunlight,  then,  flowers  are  apt  to 
shrink  from  bad  weather,  and  it  is  time  to  make 
things  snug.  These  observations  are  not  my 
own.  I  have  never  seen  timidity  in  flowers,  but 
only  regular  habits  in  some  of  them  that  incline 
them  to  close  against  too  fierce  a  light,  or  too 
dead  a  darkness.  Not  only  may  it  be  possible 
to  study  weather  from  our  yard,  but  we  may 
know  the  time  of  day.  At  least,  it  was  the  dream 
of  Linne — absurdly  Latinized  as  Linnaeus  (for, 
suppose  we  were  to  speak  of  our  first  martyr  as 
Lincolnius!) — to  own  a  floral-lock.  This  uot- 
anist,  whose  work  is  held  in  awe  by  all  who  have 
tried  to  read  it,  and  in  admiration  by  those  who 
haven't,  planned  a  bed  of  flowers  such  as  had 
regular  times  for  opening  and  closing,  so  that 

89 


LITTLE.   GARDENS 

by  looking  at  them  he  might  know  the  time  of 
day.  This  Is  possible.  Morning-glories  tell  us 
when  It  Is  not  time  to  get  up,  and  the  evening 
primrose  announces  when  It  Is  time  to  play  whist 
and  eat.  But  regardless  of  these  rather  strained 
uses  for  that  which  has  a  higher  use  than  use, 
you  will  plant  what  you  can  always  see  and  dis- 
cover promise  In  It,  even  when  to  the  eye  It  Is  sere 
and  Its  bare  stems  give  no  other  voice  to  the 
winds  than  the  threnody  of  winter. 

The  general  treatment  of  a  small  village 
yard  will  not  differ  materially  from  that  of  a 
yard  In  the  city,  but  allowance  must  be  made  for 
the  greater  exuberance  of  country  bloom.  City 
dust  and  heat  and  all-night  glare,  and  the  reflec- 
tion of  light  and  warmth  from  walls  and  fences 
and  flagstones,  do  not  tend  to  vegetal  health. 
The  country  airs  and  dews  will  keep  the  plants 
in  better  trim  than  you  can  keep  them  In  the  city. 
Hence  It  Is  well  to  plant  them  a  trifle  more  widely 
apart  than  you  would  in  town,  and  to  provide 
the  supports  needed  for  heavy  growth.  Be  care- 
ful not  to  overload  your  trellises.  I  know  of  one 
man  who  uses  an  old  steam-pipe  for  the  stem  of 
his  trellis,  and  It  supports  a  goodly  weight  of 
90 


THE     COUNTRY     YARD 

roses.     In  the  roomier  yard  of  the  village,  trees 
are  also  a  possibility;  hence,  the  shaping  and  dis- 
position of  the  beds  will  be  with  reference  to 
keeping  their  contents  out  of  the  shade.    Larger 
flowers,  too,  can  be  used  in  the  decorative  scheme 
than    can   be   well   employed   in   the   city,    for, 
whereas  a  row  of  dahlias  might  seem  dispropor- 
tionate to  a  space  in  town,  they  would  harmonize 
with  the  large  surroundings  of  a  country  place. 
Then,  the  accidents  of  topography  give  chance 
for  pleasant  diversities  from  custom  in  the  gar- 
den plan.     For  example,  if  there  is  a  stone-pit, 
or  a  ledge,  or  a  boulder  at  the  end  of  the  yard. 
It  can  be  draped  with  vines  and  it  becomes  an 
element  of  the  picturesque.     Over  in  the  Bronx 
country,  opposite  Fort  George,  New  York,  there 
Is  a  villa  which  has,  not  behind  it,  but  boldly 
planted  in  Its  front,  just  as  the  glacier  left  It,  a 
sunken  boulder  which  has  been  treated  In  this 
manner,  and  It  Is  worth  a  good  deal  more,  as  a 
scenic  feature,  than  much  of  the  smugness  to  be 
found  elsewhere.    Again,  It  may  be  that  a  brook 
or  little  river  will  cross  your  property,  and  it  can 
be  shallowed  and  widened  Into  a  bay  where  you 
may  plant  water-lilies;  or,  If  there  Is  a  boggy 
91 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

spot,  and  you  are  sure  that  mosquitoes  are  not 
breeding  there,  It  can  be  utilized  for  plants  like 
flags,  marshmallow,  marsh-marigold  and  forget- 
me-not. 

It  is  wiser  that  these  incidents  should  be  in- 
timate and  domestic  than  to  attempt  grandiose 
or  park-like  effects.  Indeed,  even  our  park- 
makers,  our  landscape  architects,  as  they  are 
called,  are  conceding  much  to  the  taste  for  sim- 
plicity. Frederick  Law  Olmsted,  who  wrought 
a  needed  reform  in  this  respect,  aimed  to  pre- 
serve the  natural  landscape,  merely  softening  it 
to  human  uses;  to  teach,  and  to  satisfy  men  with 
the  qualities  of  gentleness  and  loveliness;  to  re- 
move from  sight  all  harsh,  discordant  elements, 
and  to  stimulate  pleasures  in  the  air,  which  yield 
health  and  content,  and  calm  the  fever  of  social 
life.  In  the  park,  private  as  well  as  public,  he 
strove  to  conceal  his  art  and  pleasantly  to  deceive 
the  wayfarer  into  the  notion  that  it  was  all  nature 
in  a  holiday  humor.  We  must  regard  our  ground 
as  a  part  of  the  home,  and  govern  its  use  and 
ornament  accordingly.  In  town  nature  has  been 
humanized  out  of  likeness  to  Itself,  hence,  arti- 
fice in  gardening  conforms,  not  merely  In  aspect, 
92 


ROSES    IN     PROFUSION. 


THE     COUNTRY     YARD 

but  In  spirit,  to  its  setting.  We  may,  indeed, 
give  it  as  an  axiom,  that  the  more  formal  the 
house,  the  more  formal  the  garden.  In  the 
suburb,  or  the  village,  we  meet  nature  half-way, 
and  our  yard  is  not  an  uncovered  greenhouse,  but 
rather  a  link  between  the  joy  of  home  and  the 
lawlessness  of  the  wild.  A  village  garden  can 
be  charming  if  it  draws  only  on  the  fields  within 
sight  of  the  house  for  its  materials,  and  It  be- 
comes esthetlcally  and  morally  useful  If  It  teaches 
to  the  villagers  the  immftnence  of  that  beauty 
which,  too  often  in  their  conceit.  Is  a  far  and 
merchantable  quantity.  The  city  yard  is  an 
entity.  The  country  yard  is  foreground  for  the 
large  and  affecting  beauty  of  the  hills. 

As  to  trees.  It  is  possible  to  have  too  many 
of  them,  and  too  close  to  the  house.  Modern 
landscape  architects  will  not  hear  your  pleading 
for  just  one  elm  before  the  house,  or  just  a  couple 
of  maples  at  the  curb — that  is,  some  of  them 
won't.  Sunshine  in  the  house  Is  the  first  desid- 
eratum, and  that  is  proper.  Spirits  and  sanita- 
tion both  require  It.  Yet  I  do  not  give  up  the 
Idea  of  trees  on  the  premises.  They  should  be 
massed,  like  the  flowers.  In  groups  or  pairs  of  the 
93 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

same  variety,  not  scattered.  A  field  with  twenty 
trees  will  be  spotty  and  complex  if  they  are  iso- 
lated, but  if  arranged  in  a  cluster,  or  in  lines  that 
edge  the  property,  there  are  seemingly  more 
trees,  and  certainly  more  lawn.  One  big  space  is 
worth  tw^enty  little  spaces.  Nor  should  trees  be 
permitted  to  close  a  vista.  Rather,  they  should 
form  a  part  of  it.  In  forbidding  trees  to  the 
lawn  I  mean  that  they  are  not  to  be  dotted  over 
it,  but  that  does  not  prohibit  us  from  using 
small  and  graceful  trees  like  the  Japanese  maple, 
or  weeping  birch,  or  smoke  tree,  or  a  lilac,  as 
part  of  a  group  in  a  composition.  Be  frugal  of 
trees  immediately  at  your  doors,  at  least,  if  they 
threaten  the  light  and  air  in  your  rooms.  I  am 
going  to  violate  the  law,  myself,  by  having  a 
pine-tree  at  the  corner,  when  I  acquire  the  right 
sort  of  corner.  No  other  tree  means  so  much  in 
its  speech,  or  baffles  the  listener  more  piquantly. 
Its  mystery  is  its  charm.  In  its  sighing  and  whis- 
pering you  hear  the  voices  of  the  sea,  the  mur- 
mur of  solitary  streams,  the  questioning  of  re- 
leased spirits,  the  stirring  of  distant  hosts.  Its 
voice  is  large  and  cool,  and  it  goes  with  the  flash 
of  stars  on  January  nights  and  the  peal  of  the 
94 


THE     COUNTRY     YARD 

wind  when  the  sun  begins  to  fall  to  the  south. 
Like  the  other  occupants  of  the  home  ground,  It 
does  not  satisfy  the  eye  alone;  It  addresses  the 
mind  and  Imagination. 

Perhaps  you  are  frugal,  or  sociable,  and  pre- 
fer fruit-trees  to  pines.  Better  see  that  your 
neighbors  are  supplied  with  the  like,  then.  I 
once  had  a  pear-tree  and  a  raspberry  patch  In  a 
town  yard.  They  were  a  harrowing  experience. 
Some  one  had  to  run  out  every  hour  or  so,  and 
shoo  the  boys  away — not  that  we  cared  about 
the  pears,  much,  because  they  were  of  a  variety 
I  have  never  found  anywhere  else,  being  as  hard 
as  cocoanuts  and  as  digestible  as  rocks;  Indeed, 
the  rogue  who  stole  one  deserved  to  eat  it;  but 
the  little  rascals  broke  the  limbs.  Impaired  the 
symmetry  of  the  tree,  and  the  premises,  trampled 
the  flowers  and  made  the  grass  as  sadly  In  need 
of  combing  as  their  own  heads.  I  had  a  notion 
to  put  up  Charles  Dudley  Warner's  "  Children, 
beware :  There  is  protoplasm  here  !  "  But  that 
would  have  brought  them  In  to  look  for  It.  I 
might  have  strung  an  electrified  wire  about  the 
yard,  but  the  boys  who  had  enjoyed  an  experi- 
ence with  it  would  then  have  led  in  shoals  of 
95 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

other  boys,  who  had  not  heard  that  the  wire  was 
loaded,  in  order  to  initiate  them.  You  suffer 
from  parasites,  no  matter  what  you  grow — 
parasites  in  the  forms  of  insects,  weeds  and  boys. 
You  can  kill  the  weeds  and  insects. 

It  is  by  the  judicious  use  of  trees  that  barns, 
stables,  henneries  and  other  structures  that  were 
anciently  a  sorrow  to  the  eye,  however  much  of 
a  pride  to  the  understanding,  are  concealed  from 
observation,  yet  the  tendency  is  to  put  up  a  barn 
so  much  larger  than  the  home,  and  so  much 
handsomer  than  the  places  in  which  many  of  the 
builders  were  born,  that  if  I  were  they  I  would 
not  screen  these  architectural  triumphs  by  so 
much  as  a  pea-vine.  Where  the  outbuildings  are 
not  a  source  of  pride,  however,  it  is  well  to 
thicken  the  vegetation  between  them  and  the 
house.  Perhaps  in  any  case  the  stable  is  the 
better  for  a  hedge  about  it,  for  while  the  upper 
part  of  that  building  may  satisfy  all  demands  of 
an  esthetic  nature,  the  lower  portions  are  com- 
monly stained  with  reminders  of  earthiness,  and 
green  is  pleasanter.  Beside,  apart  from  the  pur- 
pose which  a  hedge  will  serve  in  this  conceal- 
ment, its  repetition  of  the  long,  flat  lines  of  lawn^ 

96 


THE     COUNTRY     YARD 

walk  and  other  appointments  is  restful.  Hori- 
zontal lines  in  a  picture  or  a  landscape  give  a 
sense  of  space,  yet  of  repose,  while  upright  lines 
are  excitant — the  precipices  of  Yosemite,  for 
extreme  examples.  Still,  it  is  more  from  con- 
ditions than  from  forms  that  we  derive  tranquil- 
ity. There  are  moods,  to  be  sure,  in  which  one 
becomes  impervious  to  disturbing  suggestions  of 
the  city,  when  we  are  in  the  thick  of  it;  when  the 
sun  pours  serenity  from  the  sky,  and  the  hardness 
that  so  often  assails  our  ears  and  eyes  passes  out 
of  a  world  that  has  ceased  to  be  substance  and 
has  become  aspect.  Our  grounds  comfort  us  by 
the  induction  of  these  moods.  In  them  we  find 
the  Interest  and  rest  which  differentiate  the  home 
from  other  parts  of  earth. 

The  ground  of  a  country  place  should  have  a 
seeming  tranquility,  signifying  that  It  Is  a  refuge 
from  the  storms  of  life:  hence.  In  laying  It  off 
there  should  be  no  building  up  or  digging  down, 
without  a  better  reason  than  precedent.  It  Is  a 
practise  in  some  suburban  settlements  to  place  the 
house  on  an  artificial  knoll  or  terrace  two  or  three 
feet  high.  This,  I  dare  say.  Is  a  survival  of  the 
custom  of  banking  a  house  with  earth,  on  the 
97 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

setting  In  of  winter,  though  If  we  see  the  hfted 
house  In  a  low,  flat  country  It  doubtless  means 
that  the  soil  Is  so  muddy  or  so  subject  to  over- 
flow that  the  residence  has  to  be  raised  on  a  man- 
ner of  stilts,  for  dryness'  sake.  This  perching  of 
a  house  on  a  knoll  of  such  trifling  elevation  adds 
nothing  to  Its  dignity.  It  Is  otherwise  with  the 
early  nineteenth-century  mansions  of  New  Eng- 
land that  stand  on  natural  elevations  either  near 
the  road  or  at  a  few  rods  back  from  It.  As  a  rule, 
the  farther  from  a  road,  say,  to  a  distance  of 
five  hundred  feet,  the  more  the  aspect  of  Impor- 
tance that  a  house  takes  on ;  but  there  are  many 
fine  old  homes  In  eastern  Massachusetts  that  re- 
main on  terraces,  left  by  the  lowering  of  the 
highway  grade  before  them.  Usually  the  ter- 
race front  consists  of  masonry,  and  noble  elms 
and  maples  frame  the  entrance.  There  Is  a  sense 
of  leisure  and  refinement  In  these  old  manses. 
A  house  that  comes  flatly  to  the  roadside  con- 
fesses, in  that  fact,  either  that  Its  owner  spends 
much  of  his  time  running  for  trains,  hence,  he 
can  not  spare  a  moment  to  cross  a  garden,  or 
that  he  is  so  devoid  of  self-resource  as  to  occupy 
himself  at  the  windows,   gaping  at  the  pedes- 

98 


THE     COUNTRY     YARD 

trians  and  teams,  when  he  might  be  studying 
sociology,  taking  naps  or  practising  on  the  flute. 
The  modern  idea  is  to  "  get  there."  So  we  go 
by  the  straightest  paths  and  ask  for  short  cuts, 
even  in  our  learning.  But  I  admire  the  reserve, 
the  personality,  the  implied  resource  of  a  house, 
say,  hke  Longfellow's.  Standing  thus  apart,  re- 
fusing itself  as  a  unit  in  an  architectural  sum,  or 
a  social  division  in  a  block,  it  requires  trees. 
They  are  needed  at  the  curb  to  shade  pedestrians 
and  extend  coolness,  while  they  have  the  effect 
of  sheltering  the  roof  and  adding  to  its  privacy, 
if  they  are  close  enough  to  show  above  it.  In 
such  an  instance  there  is  room  and  even  need  for 
a  garden  in  front,  especially  if  the  dwelling  is 
colonial  in  period  or  in  style,  for  the  colonial  is 
formal,  while  cottages  and  the  usual  farmhouses 
are  not.  If  there  are  flower-beds  before  it,  pos- 
sibly the  resident  may  have  no  care  for  others 
in  the  roomier  precincts  behind  it,  yet  that  is 
where  they  show  to  the  best  advantage.  When 
a  house  stands  broadside  to  the  road,  as  is  the 
way  in  sundry  of  these  old  estates,  it  implies  a 
wider  garden  than  we  find  in  the  city  where  the 
dwellings  squeeze  up  against  the  walk  and  dig 
99 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

their  neighbors  in  the  ribs  with  their  elbows.  A 
broad  house  is  pleasanter  to  view  from  its  gar- 
den than  a  narrow  one,  and  if  only  because  of  its 
amplitude,  needs  more  of  ornamental  treatment. 
This  it  has  from  Gothic  enrichments  in  the  old 
English  halls,  and  on  the  Continent  it  is  begin- 
ning to  take  on  outside  decorations,  often  painted 
on  gables  and  blank  spaces.  Because  a  large 
structure  fills  the  eye  more  nearly,  it  causes  the 
more  discontent  if  it  is  ugly.  If  the  garden  has 
area  enough,  the  house  is  seen  at  landscape  dis- 
tance, and  becomes  important  as  a  part  of  the 
picture;  hence  we  can  devise  vistas  with  the 
house  itself  at  one  end,  and  a  passage  of  agree- 
able scenery  at  the  other.  These  effects,  calling 
for  landscape-gardening  on  a  large  scale,  are 
hardly  to  be  considered  in  a  book  on  small 
grounds.  They  require  at  least  an  acre.  The 
view,  however,  may  be  as  free  to  the  occupant 
of  a  hovel  as  to  the  owner  of  a  Biltmore,  and 
where  it  is  present  it  serves  for  laying  out  the 
guide-lines  of  a  garden  composition.  Here  is 
a  plan,  carried  into  effect  in  a  country  place  near 
Philadelphia.  The  view  is  supposed  to  be  to- 
ward the  rear. 

lOO 


THE     COUNTRY     YARD 


Fig.   1 8. — J,  Flower-beds;    B,   vines;    C,    hedges;    D, 
pool,  surrounded  by  coleus  and  plants  with  ornamental  leaves. 

The  back  of  the  house  Is  draped  with  vines, 
and  tubbed  yews  and  cedars  are  placed  along  the 
borders  of  the  walk.  The  drive,  by  which  car- 
riages may  enter  the  premises  from  the  high 
road  toward  a  barn,  which  Is  rather  distant  and 
is  not  shown  here.  Is  spanned  by  an  arched  trel- 
lis covered  with  vines,  so  that  a  visitor  Is  In- 
ducted at  once  Into  the  garden,  unless  he  enters 
by  the  front  door.  Hedges  enclose  the  whole 
area  and  also  partition  the  lawn  from  the  kitch- 
en-garden, so  that  the  vegetables  are  not  In  view 
from  the  front,  although  there  need  be  no  timid- 
ity as  to  exhibiting  these  In  the  country. 

lOI 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

A  place  in  New  Jersey  has  a  broad  walk 
leading  from  the  house  toward  a  lovely  wooded 
and  watered  valley,  this  walk  containing  a  chain 
of  flower-beds  in  the  center,  a  border  of  lawn 
on  either  side,  with  close-set  cedars  along  their 
boundaries,  and  hedges  dividing  the  lawns  from 
the  walk. 


Fig.   19. — A,  Flower-beds  ;    B,  potted  cedars;    C,  planted 
evergreens. 

In  this  case  the  lawns  and  walk  create  the 
impression  of  a  long  reach  toward  the  distance, 
and  they  incorporate  the  scene  into  the  grounds, 
the  m.ore  readily  as  a  downward  slope  at  the 
lower  part  of  the  yard  conceals  the  end  of  the 
102 


THE     COUNTRY     YARD 

path,  where  It  opens  on  the  high  road,  so  that  the 
imagination  travels  farther  over  it  than  feet 
can  do. 

For  the  more  usual  space  in  a  suburb  or  a 
country  village,  a  space  of  seventy  by  a  hundred, 
or  thereabout,  which  allows  room  for  the  de- 
tachment of  the  house,  the  next  plan  Is  submitted. 
It  divides  the  territory  with  a   fair  degree  of 
economy,  and  insures  a  lawn,  a  formal  garden, 
several  flower-beds,  a  few  thickets,  a  place  for 
drying  clothes,  a  kitchen-garden,  a  grape-arbor, 
with  hedges  about  the  property  and  also  divi- 
ding the  utilities  at  the  back  from  the  grounds 
reserved  for  pleasure  and  ornament  at  the  front. 
In  case  the  tract  is  more  extensive,  so  that  the 
barn  and  vegetable  patch  may  be  retired  to  a 
greater  distance,  they  may  be  obscured  by  clus- 
ters of  low-growing  trees,  with,  perhaps,  a  single 
tall  one  to  break  their  possible  monotony.   Trees 
so  assembled  should  not  be  trimmed  or  lopped, 
except  of  dead  or  unsightly  limbs;  indeed,  trees 
that  do  not  close  a  view  are  generally  to  be  left 
to  their  own  devices.    This  scheme  assumes  that 
the  pleasanter  prospect  from  the  house  opens 
toward  the  right,  across  the  formal  garden,  and 
^  103 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

the  broad  walk  extending  from  the  front  door 
through  that  reservation  gives  reach  and  fore- 
ground to  It.  When  the  view  Is  distant  and  com- 
manding, the  forespace  should  be  kept  as  clear 
as  possible,  and  the  house  and  gardens  should 
take  on  all  the  aspect  of  beauty  and  endurance 
that  can  be  afforded.  When  It  Is  near  and  ro- 
mantic— a  dell,  a  cascade,  a  river  passage — It 
can  be  framed  In  vegetation  and  the  avenue  can 
be  narrower. 

If  the  shape  and  size  of  the  ground  are  much 
as  they  appear  In  the  last  plan,  but  the  shed  or 
barn  In  the  corner  opens  toward  the  road,  so  that 


2^i^:mm^^^^2^ 


Fig.   20. — J,  Flower-beds;    £,  place  for  drying  clothes; 
C,  fountain,  pool,  or  statue ;   X,  hydrangeas  or  tubbed  trees. 

104 


THE     COUNTRY     YARD 

a  direct  drive  is  better  liked,  the  outlines  may  be 
altered  to  something  in  this  fashion : 


Fig.  21.-^,  Flower-beds;  B,  trees;    C,  trees  or  large 

shrub  in  pots. 

In  this  scheme  the  stretch  of  lawn  Immedl- 
ately  behind  the  house  serves  for  the  drying  of 
clothes;  or,  if  the  house  is  somewhat  aloof  from 
a  settlement,  or  the  residents  are  indifferent  to 
observation,  the  grassy  reach  at  the  side,  occu- 
pied by  the  long  flower-bed  with  rounded  ends, 
can  be  appropriated  for  that  purpose.  If  the 
105 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

driveway  from  the  road  to  the  barn  or  shed  is 
muddy  or  otherwise  unpleasant,  it  can  be  largely 
concealed  from  the  view  of  the  house-dwellers 
by  running  a  hedge  along  its  inner  side,  opposite 
the  slender  strip  of  green  on  which  potted  shrubs 
have  been  placed,  or  large  and  hardy  bushes 
planted.  A  hedge  is  set  along  the  rear  of  the 
premises,  not  to  close  the  view  of  the  "  truck 
patch  "  merely,  but  to  afford  a  background  for 
the  formal  garden,  the  interest  of  which  can  be 
heightened  if  the  circle  In  Its  center  Is  a  little 
pool  or  fountain. 

Some  of  the  trees  on  the  premises  ought  to 
be  evergreens.  You  are  grateful  for  them  in 
winter.  A  little  grove  of  firs  and  some  rock  work 
can  diversify  a  far  corner,  or  both  of  the  remoter 
corners,  In  case  you  have  no  "  truck  patch,"  and 
no  barn.  And  these  evergreens  need  not  be 
pines,  hemlocks,  spruces,  cedars,  yews,  balsams 
and  the  like;  they  can  include  the  rhododendron, 
andromeda,  wintergreen,  myrtle,  and  other 
shrubs  that  stay  bright  till  after  Christmas.  The 
variety  of  smilax  known  as  cat  brier  scratches 
and  makes  a  tangle,  but  It  Is  a  bit  of  winter  color 
that  serves  as  well  as  holly  for  a  Christmas  deco- 
io6 


THE     COUNTRY     YARD 

ration.  Holly  and  other  berry-bearing  bushes 
are  to  be  prized  also,  for  their  fruit  is  as  bril- 
liant as  flowers  at  a  time  when  nature  carries 
her  softest  yet  most  brilliant  effects  away  from 
the  earth  and  paints  them  over  the  sky.  There 
are  fashions  in  trees,  as  there  are  in  shirt-waists 
and  parasols,  and  a  present  tendency  is  toward 
low-growing  species,  of  "  weeping "  habit, 
though  willows  are  no  longer  elected.  "  Weep- 
In'  willers  "  environ  some  New  England  man- 
sions still,  and  In  central  New  York  a  few  ave- 
nues of  poplars  remain  before  the  abodes  of 
"  elegance  " — Lombardy  poplars,  "  the  proper 
tree,  let  them  say  what  they  will,  to  surround  a 
gentleman's  mansion,"  as  an  old  writer  observes. 
Tubbed  trees  of  dark  and  solid  green,  privet, 
spruce,  the  West  Indian  bay,  palms  and  rubber- 
plants  are  always  useful,  and  In  a  small  yard 
they  can  surround  a  floral  square  or  circle.  One 
fashion  of  dealing  with  them  Is  to  m.ake  a  gravel 
ring  about  a  flower-bed,  place  the  tubs  upon  this 
ring,  and  plant  a  border  of  foliage  plants  still 
outside  of  them,  to  conceal  the  lower  part  of  the 
tubs,  as  In  Fig.  22. 

If  the  long  dimension  of  the  house  fronts  on 
107 


LITTLE     GARDENS 


Fig.  2  2. 
the  street  and  wholly  fills  the  width  of  the  lot 
the  yard  at  the  back  will  repeat  its  shape.     In 
such  a  case  the  yard  might  have  an  ornamental 
center  with  subcenters  at  each  end. 

Of  late  we  have  seen  an  extension  of  Spanish 
mission  architecture,  a  simple,  and  in  some  parts 
of  the  land  appropriate  style,  not  merely  for 
churches,  but  for  residences,  and  Orange,  N.  J., 
has  chosen  it  for  a  jail,  determined  that  her 
rogues  shall  go  through  the  form  of  going  to 
church.  If  a  home  built  in  this  manner  is  large, 
and  parked  about,  it  makes  as  pleasant  and  al- 
most as  picturesque  an  object  as  those  Doric  tem- 
io8 


THE     COUNTRY     YARD 


pies  we  used  to  live  in,  back  in  1820,  and  the 
early  English  castles — of  granite,  sometimes, 
and  stucco  at  others — that  were  popular  among 
the  rich  in  1850.  The  mission  style  really  needs 
room,  just  as  does  the  Greek  and  the  Gothic. 
Still,  in  the  Southwest,  where  they  continue  to 
use  adobe,  and  agreeably  follow  the  Spanish  tra- 
ditions in  their  building,  a  mission  residence 
would  not  seem  affected  or  out  of  place  on  an 
ordinary  suburban  lot;  and  a  yard  given  to  grass, 
with  a  well,  fountain  or  pool  in  the  center,  and 
an  oblong  or  oval  walk  about  it,  is  a  delightful 
109 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

reminder  of  the  monastic  gardens  of  California 
and  Mexico,  and  is  possible  where  it  is  still  the 
custom  to  draw  water  from  a  well,  or  where  the 
water  rises  close  to  the  ground  level  in  a  spring. 
If  a  well,  it  requires  a  high  curb,  lest  the  fre- 
quenters fall  in;  but  if  a  basin,  then  a  low  curb, 
or  no  curb,  w^ould  be  permitted.  I  have  seen 
such  an  arrangement,  with  the  surrounding  walk 
bordered  with  box,  a  safeguard  that  prevented 
the  ramblers  from  stepping  off  upon  the  grass, 
as  it  might  otherwise  have  pleased  them  to  do. 
Naturally  such  borders  seem  disproportionately 
large,  and  if  they  are  suffered  to  attain  to  any 
considerable  height  they  shut  off  the  view  from 
the  walker  in  his  own  garden.  Yet  an  alley  of 
shade  offers  a  pleasant  vista  in  itself,  and  will 
have  an  air  of  cloistral  seclusion  that  is  pleasant 
to  quiet  souls;  for,  as  they  take  the  air  at  evening 
they  will  realize  that  they  are  not  exhibiting  be- 
fore possible  spectators.  A  pool  or  fountain  not 
being  feasible,  it  preserves  something  of  an  old- 
fashioned  aspect  for  the  place  if  the  substitute 
is  made  of  a  sun-dial,  with  a  narrow  rim  of  flow- 
ers about  the  pedestal,  or  a  small  vine  clamber- 
ing up  the  standard. 

I  lO 


THE     COUNTRY     YARD 

Arbors  are  to  be  viewed  askant,  unless  at  a 
remove  from  the  house.  They  contribute  to  a 
crowded  and  top-heavy  effect,  unless  there  are 
individual  reasons  for  them,  such  as  the  outdoor 
tea  habit  or  a  fondness  for  reading  in  the  shade; 
but  it  would  suit  with  a  Spanish  mission  walk  if 
the  farther  reach  of  it  were  roofed  by  a  pergola, 
slight  and  simple  as  possible  in  construction,  and 
covered  with  climbing  roses  and  honeysuckle — 
though  the  latter  is  so  dense  in  its  mode  of 
growth  that  it  shuts  off  air  and  light,  even  in 
winter,  unless  it  is  often  trimmed — and  opening 
on  the  yard  in  little  arches  or  square  windows. 
Such  a  walk  w^ould  be  for  lonely  contemplation, 
and  would  be  for  a  poet,  or  an  Englishman. 

And  If  an  Englishman,  and  he  really  wishes 
seclusion — otherwise  he  is  an  American — and  he 
IS  the  owner  of  the  property,  he  can  substitute  for 
the  cheap,  ugly,  unlasting  fence,  which  still  sur- 
vives in  the  village,  a  brick  wall  which  will  give 
a  support  to  his  vines  and  a  shield  to  all  his  gar- 
den from  the  winds.  They  are  not  a  lasting  joy 
to  contemplate — bricks  aren't — especially  In  sea- 
sons when  the  leaves  are  off,  but  it  Is  possible  to 
mitigate  the  plainness  of  a  wall  of  them  by  insets 
II I 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

of  terra-cotta  panels  or  borders,  such  as  are  cheap- 
ly offered  in  these  times,  and  wear  nearly  as  well 
as  brick  itself.  Should  a  garden  be  surrounded  by 
a  brick  wall  a  large  panel  in  terra  cotta  could  be 
built  into  the  center  at  the  back,  or  a  seat  could 
be  built  out  from  it.  The  sculptor  Pepys  Cock- 
erell  has  recently  finished  a  curious  work  at 
Lythe  Hall,  an  estate  in  Haslemere,  England, 
w^hich  consists  in  a  frieze  representing  a  hunt, 
chiseled  from  the  solid  brick  of  a  wall  which  is 
farther  ornamented  by  a  coping  above  and  but- 
tresses below,  and  which  is  surfaced  with  ivy  to 
the  base  of  the  frieze.  Were  I  doomed  to  live 
always  in  a  city,  I  would  have  the  view  from  the 
garden  no  less  attractive  than  the  view  into  it, 
and  I  would  therefore  try  to  give  some  dignity 
to  the  rear  of  the  house  by  placing  on  it  a  large 
design  in  terra  cotta,  or  even  in  color,  and  some 
beauty,  by  growth  of  vine  and  an  exhibit  of  win- 
dow-boxes. The  architectural  scheme  of  the 
house  should  be  carried  into  the  stone  or  brick 
wall  enclosing  the  garden,  and — but  I  must  wait 
till  the  ship  comes  home. 


112 


IV 

COLOR 

Taking  us  as  a  people,  by  and  large,  our  en- 
joyment of  color  is  rather  barbaric.  We  have 
no  objection  to  a  lot  of  it,  and  if  the  key  is  high 
pitched  it  does  not  keep  us  awake.  We  have 
held  puritanical  objections  to  liveliness,  whether 
of  color,  music,  speech,  thought  or  conduct,  but 
either  we  did  not  recognize  it  in  tints  when  we 
saw  it,  or  we  are  recovering  somewhat  of  that 
youth  of  the  eye  that  it  had  before  Cromwell 
blacked  it  for  us.  We  improve  in  taste  as  we 
grow  younger,  and  the  hope  that  penetrates  far 
into  the  future  sees,  even  in  our  streets,  such 
splendors  as  were  seen  in  Florence  in  its  days  of 
greatness.  Flowers  can  be  vehement,  though 
they  seldom  are,  for  green  is  a  delicious  solvent 
that  brings  them  into  relation,  and  often  into  har- 
mony:  and,  again,  they  are  of  a  purity  and  trans- 
parency that  softens  them,  even  in  contrast.  If 
the  hues  of  certain  blossoms  are  a  bit  aggressive 

113 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

In  the  sun,  we  are  to  remember  that  we  seldom 
see  them  in  full  light,  and  that  the  shadows  of 
leaves,  tree  trunks  and  walls  do  much  to  tone 
down  what  else  would  be  too  shrill.  Then,  it  is 
more  severe  upon  us  to  turn  a  single  ray  of  sharp 
red  or  yellow  upon  the  optic  nerve  than  to  flood 
it  with  the  same  color.  We  resent  little  effects ; 
we  want  broad  spaces  and  masses;  hence,  it  is  not 
well  to  have  a  quantity  of  unrelated  tints  in  your 
garden.  A  solid  bank  of  marigolds,  azaleas,  or 
what  not,  is  a  comfort  in  its  mere  aspect;  we  bask 
in  it,  and  seem  to  appropriate  from  its  color  some 
delicate  material  for  the  building  of  the  spirit, 
even  as  physicians  have  discovered  varying  path- 
ological values  in  reds,  blues,  greens,  yellows, 
browns,  grays  and  blacks — excitants  and  seda- 
tives. 

In  flowers  we  have  every  primary  and  sec- 
ondary color,  and  many  shades  of  each.  May  I 
be  pardoned  if  I  revert  briefly  to  first  principles. 
Light  can  be  broken  into  three  primary  hues : 
red,  yellow  and  blue.  Mix  any  two  of  these  and 
you  have  a  secondary. 

Where  red  overlaps  yellow,  it  makes  orange ; 
where  it  overlaps  blue,  it  makes  purple;  where 
114 


COLOR 


Fig.  24. 

yellow  and  blue  are  blended,  the  result  is  green. 
In  these  six  we  have  the  rainbow,  if  you  add  that 
deeper  blue  we  call  indigo,  on  its  outer  rim,  and 
that  strange  liver  color  which  fills  the  space  be- 
tween the  two  arches  when  there  is  a  double  bow. 
No  color  is  black.  Where  all  colors  blend  we 
have  the  pure  white  light — if  we  use  the  spec- 
trum, because  if  you  mix  pigments  that  way  you 
have  only  a  mess.  We  paint  the  earth  when  we 
plant  flowers,  but  a  charm  of  these  little  friends 
is  the  tender  and  ethereal  quality  of  their  color. 
A  certain  red  in  paint  is  thick  and  dull,  but  on  the 
petal  of  a  rose,  peony  or  rhododendron  it  gleams 
like  a  jewel. 

Nature  does  not  enjoy  a  reckless  mixing  of 
tints.     She  softens  her  distances  by  toning  them 
11^ 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

to  blue,  in  harmony  with  the  sky  and  sea;  her 
universal  green  is  the  most  restful  and  satisfying 
of  all  hues:  with  what  splendid  sweeps  of  her 
brush  of  sun-rays  does  she  change  our  woods  in 
autumn,  and  what  lovely  purples  and  violets 
we  have  when  the  blue  of  a  few  miles  of  air 
blends  with  the  red  of  the  oaks  and  maples ! 
Our  garden  will  be  more  rich  if  we  treat  it  as 
the  artist  treats  his  canvas,  and  avoid  harsh  con- 
trasts and  tiny  dabs  of  color.  Sow  yellow  with 
a  generous  hand,  and  the  earth  will  smile  its  con- 
tent. Unless,  to  be  sure,  you  are  one  of  those 
who  have  an  aversion  to  it,  in  which  case,  take 
another  color.  For  myself,  I  find  beauty  in  any 
tint,  but  I  ask  that  it  be  used  purely  and  be  kept 
from  jangling  with  every  other.  And  the  way  to 
use  It,  is  to  use  It  largely  and  simply.  The  limits 
of  a  garden  are  so  small  that  you  may  think  you 
are  forced  to  plant  primaries  side  by  side,  and 
find  that  they  jar  a  little.  If  you  Interpose  a 
touch  of  that  with  which  you  want  a  color  to  har- 
monize the  thing  is  done.  For  instance,  you 
have  a  bed  of  red  nasturtiums,  and  you  wish  to 
put  some  yellow  flowers  In  the  center  or  about 
the  borders.  Then  use  orange  nasturtiums  as 
ii6 


COLOR 

blenders,  for  they  contain  both  yellow  and  red. 
So  long  as  you  keep  to  one  kind  of  flower  you 
are  in  little  danger  from  discords,  because  here 
again  nature  attests  her  esthetics  and  gives  war- 
rant for  our  own.    For  it  is  a  well-known  fact  in 
botany  that  the  flowers  of  any  plant  species  will 
be  restricted  in  their  coloring  to  two  of  the  pri- 
maries with,  probably,  the  intermediate  tint,  that 
comes  of  hybridizing.     For  example,  the  rose 
rejects  blue  and  keeps  to  red  and  yellow.    It  also 
adds  white,  for  that  does  not  commit  the  plant 
which  elects  it  to  the  use  of  the  third  primary. 
The  rose  has  almost  every  shade  of  red  and 
pink;  it  has  a  gamut  of  yellows;  it  even  threatens 
to  blend  these  and  produce  an  orange  rose,  but 
has  gone  no  closer  than  a  salmon  tint,  so  far; 
but  you  will  find  no  rose  with  a  purple  cast,  for 
that  would  promise  a  divergence  into  the  third 
and  forbidden  primary — blue.     We  shall  prob- 
ably never  have  a  blue  rose;  at  least,  the  labor 
of  experts  and  centuries  in  the  endeavor  to  pro- 
duce one  has  come  to  naught.     We  should  not 
care  as  much  for  it  as  for  the  rose  of  to-day  if 
we  had  it,  I  dare  say;  at  least,  after  the  novelty 
had  worn  off. 

117 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

Taking  another  family,  we  find  the  same  rule 
proved :  the  chrysanthemum  is  yellow,  red  and 
white,  with  blended  hues,  but  never  blue.  In  the 
aster,  which  it  resembles,  we  have,  on  the  con- 
trary, no  yellow,  but  red,  blue  and  white,  com- 
monly the  red  tinged  with  blue  and  the  blue 
showing  a  trace  of  red.  In  the  sweet  pea  we 
have  blue  and  red  but  faint  yellow ;  in  the  azalea, 
red  and  yellow,  but  no  blue ;  the  canna  and  gladi- 
olus exhibit  various  shades  of  red  and  yellow, 
but  no  blue;  in  the  cineraria  we  have  a  lively  ex- 
hibit of  ruddy  blues,  but  never  a  touch  of  yellow; 
the  geranium  has  several  shades  of  red,  with  a 
scarlet  that  indicates  an  admixture  of  yellow,  but 
there  is  no  geranium  which  sows  a  hint  of  blue; 
the  bellis  copies  the  color  range  of  the  aster, 
hence  it  is  not  yellow.  There  are  a  few  excep- 
tions ;  for  instance,  we  have  red,  yellow  and  blue 
in  the  columbines;  and  the  violet  is  both  yellow 
and  purple,  the  latter  a  mixture  of  red  and  blue; 
but  these  exceptions  are  just  enough  to  prove  the 
rule. 

If,   however,   we   put   flowers   of  unrelated 
families  into  close  touch  with  one  another  we 
may  perpetrate   an   inharmony  now   and  then. 
iiS 


COLOR 

Some  boldly  throw  complementary  colors  to- 
gether. A  complementary,  or  opposite,  Is  that 
color  which  Is  not  contained  In  the  complemented. 
Thus,  red  Is  the  opposite,  or  complementary,  of 
green,  a  compound  of  the  two  other  primaries, 
and  vice  versa.  If  we  look  Intently  on  yellow, 
then  quickly  turn  away,  or  close  our  eyes,  we 
shall  see  purple,  that  color  representing  the  com- 
bination of  those  other  two  primaries  which  yel- 
low is  not;  if  we  look  away  from  blue,  we  shall 
be  conscious  of  orange.  Some  Ingenious  pictures 
were  published  a  few  years  ago  called  "  Ghosts." 
One  looked  for  half  a  minute  steadily  at  a 
green  rose  with  red  leaves,  and  turning  his  head 
smartly  looked  Into  some  shadowed  corner, 
where  after  a  few  seconds,  a  phantom  rose,  of 
normal  color,  duplicating  the  form  that  he  had 
impressed  upon  his  eye,  appeared,  sometimes 
with  surprising  clearness.  In  the  same  way,  the 
picture  of  a  sheeted  figure  in  black  became  a 
ghost  in  white  when  the  observer  looked  away 
from  the  plate,  and  off  into  a  darkened  room, 
while  a  figure  In  white  repeated  itself  In  black 
against  a  white  wall.  These  experiments  ac- 
count for  a  good  many  supernatural  appearances, 
9  119 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

and  are  of  physiological  interest  no  less.  But 
what  the  eye  does  as  by  mechanism  is  not  of  ne- 
cessity a  guide  to  that  which  we  shall  do  with  our 
hands.  Complementaries  when  crudely  juxta- 
posed, yellow  with  purple,  and  orange  with  blue, 
are  apt  to  get  to  quarreling  with  one  another 
when  our  backs  are  turned.  Veiled  and  softened 
by  air  and  shadow,  nature's  primaries,  whether 
used  with  opposites  or  not,  seldom  clash  disturb- 
ingly, but  close  at  hand,  in  our  home  plot,  it  is 
better  to  harmonize  than  to  contrast.  The  cooler 
and  quieter  colors  fit  themselves  more  easily 
to  a  miscellaneous  company  than  do  the  gayer 
ones;  indeed,  we  can  make  one  rule  suffice:  to 
keep  cool  and  warm  colors  apart,  each  in  the 
society  of  its  like.  The  scarlet  of  geraniums  is 
acid,  but  it  is  less  endurable  when  supported  by 
a  sharp,  high  green  of  the  same  "  value,"  than 
when  offset  by  a  darker  green.  Put  a  glaring 
scarlet  geranium  alongside  a  bright  blue  flower 
of  any  sort,  and  there  is  liable  to  be  a  riot.  Scar- 
let geraniums  are  rather  intractable  things,  yet 
apparently  the  most  popular  of  pot-plants.  They 
are  effective  in  borders  and  masses,  but  those  of 
a  rich  China  red,  and  of  pink  and  white,  are  more 

120 


COLOR 

agreeable  and  more  generally  useful.     Comple- 
mentaries  make  one  another  more  intense.     If 
we  put  the  yellowish  leaf  of  a  nasturtium  against 
the  magenta  of  a  cineraria,  the  former  becomes 
more    brilliant,    and   the   latter  more   rich   and 
solemn.     But  if  we  put  a  crimson  rose  beside  the 
cineraria,  and  maybe,  place  a  bunch  of  purple 
grapes  before  them,  we  should  have  three  re- 
lated  colors    and    a    harmony,    eliminating,    of 
course,  the  nasturtium  leaf.     If,  on  the  contrary, 
we  were  to  put  the  cineraria  into  a  combination 
with  a  ripe  orange  and  a  bit  of  cloth  of  a  bright 
blue-green — secondaries,    all — we    should   have 
three  semitones  of  a  major  chord,  and  semitones 
make    discord    when    they    are    not    separated. 
Flowers  that  have  a  tinge  of  blue,  or  red  or  yel- 
low in  common  may  be  used  safely.     If  it  is,  for 
any  reason,  necessary  to  bring  colors  near  one 
another  that  are  addicted  to  quarreling,  use  as 
pale  tints  of  them  as  possible,  because  white  Is  a 
wonderful  quieter  and  sweetener,  and  separate 
them  by  green,  or  some  medium  tint.  If  they  can 
be  kept  a  little  apart.    Almost  any  color  justifies 
Itself  when  It  Is  exuberant  In  quantity,  yet  the 
finer  and  softer  tones  of  It  win  us,  in  the  end. 

121 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

When  in  doubt,  use  white.  That  is  safe  with 
all  colors.  It  does  not  make  a  harmony  with 
them,  any  more  than  green  makes  harmony.  We 
are  to  regard  it  rather  as  light.  We  can  enjoy 
the  effect  of  marble  statuary,  balustrades,  urns, 
columns,  stairs,  curbs  and  walks  in  formal  gar- 
dens, and  the  white  of  this  stone  grows  the  softer, 
yet  the  surer,  for  a  backing  or  surrounding  of 
somber  yews  and  rhododendrons.  It  is  pure  and 
passionless  and  seems  always  to  express  engaging 
innocence,  whether  we  find  it  in  the  rose,  the 
hyacinth,  the  locust  or  the  water-lily.  I  wish  we 
were  not  so  frightened  by  the  possibility  of  it  in 
our  costumes,  and  did  not  confine  it  to  varnished 
shirts,  tin  collars  and  boiler-plate  cuffs.  Every 
one  looks  well  and  younger  in  white,  and  nobody 
looks  well  in  black.  So,  in  flowers,  white  may 
not  dazzle  or  surprise;  It  does  not  gratify  the 
barbaric  fondness  for  show;  it  is  not  sensational; 
but  it  is  always  welcome,  always  comforting;  no 
less  than  green  it  expresses  serenity  and  health. 


122 


FLOWERS    IN    THEIR    SEASON 

The  main  thing  In  our  garden-making,  is  not 
the  shape  of  the  beds,  nor  even  the  arrangement 
of  what  is  put  into  them :  it  is  the  plants  and  flow- 
ers we  grow  there,  not  forgetting  the  grass.  And 
in  respect  of  flowers,  one  has  a  wide  and  dehght- 
ful  choice.  There  is  an  almost  irresistible  temp- 
tation, on  the  part  of  beginners  in  yard  garden- 
ing, to  overdo  the  matter  and  to  put  more  plants 
into  the  ground  than  the  ground  will  feed,  and 
more  than  suffices  for  appearance.  The  canny 
seedsmen  understand  this  w^illingness  to  be 
tempted;  they  feed  it  and  reap  an  exceeding  great 
reward.  They  realize  that  every  catalogue  they 
publish,  with  its  gaudy  colored  plates  of  cannas, 
such  as  never  grew  for  any  human  coaxing,  and 
verbenas  that  stand  up  with  military  conse- 
quence, putting  up  massive  heads  of  gorgeous 
blues  and  crimsons.  Instead  of  straggling  help- 
lessly over  the  bed,  looking  for  a  place  to  lie 
123 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

down  and  go  to  seed,  and  of  cosmos  that  springs 
to  a  six-foot  measure  in  a  couple  of  nights  and 
flaunts  around  the  premises  in  clouds  of  pink  and 
red  and  white — they  realize  that  the  man  who 
receives  these  eternal  blazons  will  brood  over 
them,  in  a  state  of  increasing  helplessness,  falling 
deeper  and  deeper  into  the  toils  of  his  own  and 
the  seedsmen's  imagination  as  he  does  so,  until, 
wholly  victim,  he  opens  his  desk  and  composes  a 
check,  in  return  for  which  he  receives  certain 
envelopes  of  seed,  and  sundry  unpromising  frag- 
ments of  root  or  cuttings  and  various  withered 
bulbs,  all  of  which  may,  yet  now  and  then,  do 
not,  explode  into  floral  fireworks  a  few  weeks 
later.  Commercialism  is  a  dreadful  thing,  and 
when  flowers  get  into  it  they  do  not  appear  to 
exercise  any  more  restraint  on  the  moral  habits 
of  their  growers  than  if  they  were  pig-iron,  or 
sausages. 

Yet,  do  not  suppose  that  the  seedsman  is  a 
natural  enemy  of  small  gardeners.  Far  from  it. 
Some  of  the  things  I  have  bought  from  him 
were  better  than  he  advertised,  especially  as 
they  acquainted  me  with  the  pleasures  of  hope. 
For,  after  all,  it  is  not  the  product  in  which  we 
124 


FLOWERS     IN     SEASON 

take  the  greatest  joy :  It  Is  In  the  producing.  We 
owe  dally  thanks  to  Adam  for  our  garden  prac- 
tise and  our  habit  of  work.  A  man  who  has 
made  things  grow  has  been  pleasantly  and 
healthfully  occupied,  his  Imagination  has  been 
enlarged,  but  he  does  not  believe  In  print  to  the 
same  extent  as  before  he  began  to  read  floral  cat- 
alogues. Still,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  people 
who  write  catalogues,  and  more  particularly, 
illustrate  them,  wish  that  flowers  did  grow  just 
as  they  do  on  their  pages.  Why  shouldn't  they 
wish  It?  As  compared  with  usual  blossoms  of 
the  same  names,  theirs  are  as  watermelons  to 
mangel-wurzels. 

In  choosing  flowers  for  the  little  garden  you 
will  pick  out  enough  at  the  beginning  to  fill  some- 
thing less  than  three  acres.  The  array  you  con- 
template is  as  magnificent  as  any  in  the  demesnes 
of  royalty.  But  looking  out  upon  the  space  at 
your  disposal,  and  the  figures  that  represent  your 
bank-account,  you  sigh  regretfully,  run  the  blue 
pencil  through  your  order  and  begin  the  practise 
of  self-abnegation,  which  is  alleged  by  those  ad- 
dicted to  it  to  be  good  for  one's  morals. 

Up  here  In  the  temperate  zone  we  can  not 
125 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

have  the  flowers,  even  in  our  greenhouses,  that 
make  the  tropics  gaudy.  We  have  vegetal 
beauty  and  abundance  of  it;  but  there  is  no  such 
wonder  of  grace,  such  passion  of  color,  such  ex- 
travagance of  perfume  as  we  find,  say,  in  the 
West  Indies,  where  the  tree  jasmin  loads  the  air 
with  fragrance,  and  the  flamboyant  {poinciana 
regia)  burns  like  the  flaming  bush  and  carpets 
the  roads  with  red  after  a  wind — a  red  more 
gorgeous  than  that  of  our  October  woods. 
When  we  do  fetch  an  exotic  into  our  yards,  it 
may  survive,  but  it  will  never  be  the  same  as  in 
its  native  soil.  So  let  us  content  ourselves  with 
what  shall  grow  with  ease  and  certainty.  If  we 
can  not  have  the  jasmin  we  can  cultivate  the  tube- 
rose, which  is  as  sweet;  if  not  the  flamboyant, 
we  can  have  the  croton,  galax  and  poinsettia  in 
our  borders,  and  the  sunflower,  dahlia  and  chrys- 
anthemum in  our  beds.  And  in  buying  plants 
you  have  before  you  two  methods  and  a  com- 
promise. The  first  method  is  to  fill  your  garden 
with  hardy  plants  that  come  up  year  after  year 
with  little  or  no  urging  or  attention.  The  second 
is  to  have  a  change  of  contents  every  year  by 
setting  out  potted  plants — annuals — that  you 
126 


f^-^^"^^^: 


A    WINDOW    IN    OHIO 


FLOWERS     IN     SEASON 

buy  from  florists  In  the  spring,  or  that  you  may 
raise  from  cuttings,  seed  and  roots.  If  you  have 
a  greenhouse  or  a  cold  frame,  and  such  plants 
will  bloom  once  and  be  seen  no  more.  The  com- 
promise is  to  give  a  part  of  your  garden  to  the 
sure  and  sturdy  things,  and  reserve  places  for 
annuals  and  opportunities  and  experiments.  My 
own  election  would  be  for  perennials.  If  I  were 
bound  to  a  choice,  but  one  enlarges  his  knowl- 
edge and  deepens  his  Interest  If  he  tries  the  effect 
of  new  soils  and  new  conditions  on  plants  with 
which  he  is  unfamiliar.  The  common  wild  flow- 
ers are  always  inviting  for  this  purpose,  and  are 
never  more  delightful  than  when  we  find  them 
In  the  strange  and  seemingly  uncongenial  sur- 
rounding of  a  city  yard. 

If  you  resolve  on  the  hardy  garden,  choose 
those  plants  that  really  are  hardy  and  will  not 
die  in  a  sharp  winter.  A  backing  of  bushes  near 
the  fence  is  desirable,  any  way,  if  you  have  room 
for  them.  If  you  have  annuals,  assign  them  to  a 
separate  space,  where  the  spading  and  planting 
will  not  imperil  the  roots  of  the  perennials  al- 
ready in  the  ground.  Study  the  cultural  direc- 
tions given  on  the  seed-packets,  but  remember 
127 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

that  some  annuals,  like  the  poppy,  hollyhock 
and  portulaca,  seed  themselves  so  abundantly 
that  you  have  no  need  to  plant  them  after  the 
first  year.  Arrange  the  garden  so  that  the  small- 
est of  Its  contents  shall  be  nearest.  For  the  back 
row  plant  vines  and  flowering  bushes — lilac, 
rose,  rudbeckia,  syringa,  rose  of  Sharon,  rhodo- 
dendron, snowberry,  snowball,  smoke-tree,  wei- 
gelia,  oleander  (to  be  taken  indoors  In  cool 
weather),  even  a  small  magnolia;  or,  tall  an- 
nuals like  hollyhock,  sunflower,  artichoke  or  ele- 
campane. These  will  stand  at  a  height  of  from 
five  to  eight  feet  and  will  cover  your  fence  from 
view.  Then,  before  them  can  be  set  things  like 
the  tall  varieties  of  phlox,  dahlia,  golden-rod, 
Joe  Pye-weed,  marshmallow,  yucca  filamentosa 
and  mullein.  Why,  but  these  last  are  weeds! 
As  you  please.  A  weed  by  the  name  of  a  garden 
flower  Is  quite  as  handsome  as  many  garden 
flowers  that  are  weeds  In  their  own  countries. 
Our  mullein,  for  instance,  is  really  a  distin- 
guished vegetable,  and  If  It  were  less  common 
we  should  raise  It  In  our  conservatories  alongside 
of  our  orchids  and  gloxinias.  In  Holland  it  is 
cultivated,  and  Is  spoken  of  respectfully  as  the 
128 


FLOWERS     IN     SEASON 

American  velvet  plant.  Then,  a  step  lower 
than  these  we  can  have  the  peony,  Dutchman's 
breeches,  bleeding-hearts,  larkspur,  cardinal 
flower,  hly,  iris,  the  common  daisy,  canna,  salvia, 
gladiolus,  tuberose,  Canterbury  bells  and  others 
of  a  like  stature.  Still  advancing  toward  the 
path,  for  you  will  not  hide  the  small  plants  by 
putting  the  big  ones  in  front,  are  poppies,  colum- 
bines, gas-plants,  funkia,  candytuft,  pinks,  the 
low-growing  phlox,  balsams,  zinnia,  mignonette, 
heliotrope,  indeed,  a  majority  of  the  garden  fa- 
vorites. Of  course,  if  these  plants — or  any  other 
— are  used,  their  color  relations  must  be  consid- 
ered, not  less  than  their  height,  and  in  planting 
we  must  also  regard  their  habit  of  growth:  not 
merely  whether  they  grow  lengthwise,  but 
whether  or  not  they  spread  out  sidewise.  If  this 
matter  is  neglected  we  may  plant  a  gaillardia  or 
amaryllis,  and  have  to  look  for  it  later  under  the 
spread  of  a  stramonium,  or  find  it  strangled  in 
the  clasp  of  a  clematis  or  woodbine. 

It  was   Lord   Bacon's   idea   that   a   garden 
should  always  be  in  bloom.    So  it  should,  and  so 
it  will  not  be.     Bacon's  quaint  essay  on  the  sub- 
ject supposes  an  immense  tract  laid  out  with  ave- 
129 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

nues,  arbors,  fountains,  lawns,  and  an  edge  of 
wilderness.  In  a  space  like  that  it  would  not  be 
difficult  to  have  a  succession  of  blooms  so  long 
as  the  weather  permitted  any.  It  is  worth  while 
to  quote  from  this  discourse,  if  only  to  observe 
how  little  or  how  much  of  the  English  language 
has  become  incomprehensible  in  the  last  three 
centuries : 

"  God  Almightie  first  Planted  a  Garden. 
And  indeed,  it  is  the  Purest  of  Humane  pleas- 
ures. It  is  the  Greatest  Refreshment  to  the 
Spirits  of  Man;  Without  which,  Buildings  and 
Pallaces  are  but  Grosse  Handy-works:  And  a 
Man  shall  ever  see,  that  when  Ages  grow  to  Civ- 
ility and  Elegancie,  Men  come  to  Build  Stately, 
sooner  then  to  Garden  Finely:  As  if  Gardening 
were  the  Greater  Perfection.  I  doe  hold  it,  in 
the  Royall  Ordering  of  Gardens,  there  ought  to 
be  Gardens  for  all  the  Moneths  in  the  Yeare :  In 
which,  severally.  Things  of  Beautie,  may  be  then 
in  Season.  For  December,  and  January,  and  the 
Latter  Part  of  November,  you  must  take  such 
Things,  as  are  Greene  all  Winter;  Holly;  Ivy; 
Bayes;  Juniper;  Cipresse  Trees;  Eugh;  Pine- 
Apple-Trees;  Firre-Trees;  Rose-Mary;  Lavan- 
130 


FLOWERS     IN     SEASON 

der;  Periwinckle,  the  White,  the  Purple,  and  the 
Blewe;  Germander;  Flagges;  Orenge-Trees; 
Limon-Trees;  And  Mirtles,  if  they  be  stooved; 
&  Sweet  Marjoram  warme  set.  There  followeth 
for  the  latter  part  of  January,  and  February,  the 
Mezerion  Tree,  which  then  blossomes;  Crocus 
Vernus,  both  the  Yellow,  and  the  Gray;  Prime- 
Roses;  Anemones:  The  Early  Tulippa;  Hia- 
cynthus  Orientalis;  Chamairis;  Fretellaria.  For 
March,  There  come  Violets,  especially  the  Single 
Blew,  which  are  the  Earliest;  The  Yellow  Daf- 
fodil; The  Dazie:  The  Almond-Tree  in  Blos- 
some;  The  Peach-Tree  in  Blossome;  The  Cor- 
nelian-Tree in  Blossome ;  Sweet-Briar.  In  Aprill 
follow,  The  Double  white  Violet;  The  Wall- 
flower; The  Stock  Gilly-Flower;  The  Couslip; 
Flower-Delices,  &  Tillies  of  all  Natures;  Rose- 
mary Flowers;  The  Tulippa;  The  Double  Dio- 
ny;  The  Pale  Daffadill;  The  French  Honny- 
Suckle;  The  Cherry-Tree  in  Blossome;  The 
Dammasin,  and  Plum-Trees  in  Blossome;  The 
White-Thorne  in  Leafe;  The  Lelacke  Tree.  In 
May,  and  June,  come  Pincks  off  all  sorts.  Spe- 
cially the  Blush  Pincke;  Roses  of  all  kinds,  except 
the  Muske,  which  comes  later;  Hony-Suckles ; 
131 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

Strawberries ;  Buglosse ;  Columbine ;  The  French 
Mary-gold;  Flos  Afrlcanus;  Cherry-Tree  in 
Fruit;  Figges  in  Fruit;  Raspes;  Vine  Flowers; 
Lavender  in  Flowers;  The  Sweet  Satyrian,  with 
the  White  Flower;  Herba  Muscaria;  Lilium 
Convallium;  the  Apple-Tree  in  Blossome.  In 
July  come  Gilly- Flowers  of  all  Varieties;  Muske 
Roses ;  The  Lime-Tree  in  blossome ;  Early  Peares, 
and  Plummes  in  Fruit;  Ginnitings;  Quadlins. 
In  August,  come  Plummes  of  all  sorts  in  Fruit; 
Peares;  Apricockes;  Berberies;  Filberds;  Muske- 
Melons;  Monks  Hoods,  of  all  colours;  Peaches, 
Melo-Cotones;  Nectarines;  Cornelians;  War- 
dens, Quinces.  In  October,  and  the  beginning 
of  November,  come  Services;  Medlars;  Bullises; 
Roses  Cut  or  Removed  to  come  late;  Holly- 
hokes;  and  such  like.  These  Particulars  are  for 
the  Climate  of  London;  But  my  meaning  is  Per- 
ceived, that  you  may  have  Ver  Perpetuum,  as  the 
Place  affords." 

Your  yard  shall  be  the  clock  of  the  seasons 
if  you  plant  with  reference  to  the  flowering  time. 
Thus,  we  put  bulbs  into  the  earth  in  fall,  for  their 
appearance  so  soon  as  the  snow  is  gone.  The 
first  warm  days  bring  points  of  green  to  the  sur- 
132 


FLOWERS     IN     SEASON 

face,  and  before  the  trees  have  shot  out  a  leaf 
we  have  the  crocus,  white,  blue  and  yellow, 
chnging  to  the  ground  as  if  to  retire  if  it  had 
miscalculated  its  chances  for  prosperity.  In  their 
hardihood  some  of  the  spring  flowers  are  de- 
ceived, and  are  cut  down  in  a  night  by  sudden  and 
cruel  freezes.  We  prize  these  drops  and  flashes 
of  color  at  more  than  their  intrinsic  worth,  no 
doubt,  because  they  are  the  first.  We  should  not 
care  a  great  deal  for  the  anemone,  the  bloodroot 
and  the  liverwort  if  we  were  to  find  them  in  the 
summer.  The  opulence  of  loveliness  that  sur- 
rounds us  then  would  blind  us  to  the  modest  and 
brave  little  creatures  that  are  its  heralds.  Still, 
not  all  the  spring  flowers  are  small.  There  are 
hyacinths,  most  prized  of  the  bulbs,  with  spikes 
of  white,  pink  and  pale-blue  flowers,  thick-set, 
often  double,  deliciously  fragrant,  and  fairly 
lasting;  for,  so  early  in  the  year  few  insects  have 
arrived,  and  it  is  the  effort  of  flowers  to  last  until 
the  insects,  seeking  nectar,  fertilize  them  and 
*'  set  "  the  seed.  Then  we  have  the  freesia,  fine, 
delicate,  well-nigh  as  fragrant  as  the  hyacinth. 
Other  first  appearances  that  inaugurate  the  eight 
months  of  bloom  are  those  of  the  grape  hya- 
133 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

cinth,  crown  Imperial,  snowdrop,  bluebell,  the 
bellls  or  English  daisy — the  "  wee,  crlmson-tlp- 
plt  flower  "  of  Burns's  apostrophe,  which  I  have 
found,  self  sown,  as  an  escape  from  American 
gardens;  and  In  your  wild  corner,  if  you  have 
one,  the  tawny  lily  that  we  call  dog-tooth  violet, 
because  It  Is  not  a  violet  and  does  not  represent 
a  dog's  tooth,  and  Is  as  unwisely  called  adder's- 
tongue;  the  fragile  spring-beauty,  squirrel-corn, 
the  anemone;  then,  among  the  woods  we  come 
upon  the  Dutchman's-breeches  (If  this  name 
offends  you,  call  them  white  hearts)  and  trail- 
ing arbutus,  that  peddlers  tear  up  from  the  New 
England  and  Long  Island  woods  to  hawk  about 
our  streets.  Before  April  Is  over  we  have  In  our 
gardens  the  candytuft,  clarkla,  gllla,  California 
poppy,  Drummond's  phlox,  daphne  mazereiim, 
goldenbell,  June-berry,  shadbush,  splcebush,  Ju- 
das-tree, Japanese  quince,  and  such  boughten 
things  as  you  may  have  had  from  the  florist  and 
put  into  your  flower-beds,  pots  and  all,  against 
the  sharpness  of  spring  winds. 

There  Is  little  danger  from  frost  In  the  lati- 
tude of  New  York  after  the  beginning  of  May, 
although  the  month  may  be  raw  and  the  output 
134 


FLOWERS     IN     SEASON 

of  flowers  but  slight.  In  that  season  the  colum- 
bine, everlasting,  jack-ln-the-pulpit  and  wake- 
robin  are  springing  in  the  glens,  and  In  your 
yard,  If  you  have  planted  them,  you  may  watch 
for  the  moss-pink,  daffodil,  jonquil,  tulip,  sum- 
mer snowflake,  dogwood,  tulip-tree,  magnolia, 
barberry,  kerria,  lily-of-the-valley,  sllverbell,  for- 
get-me-not, lamp-plant,  rock-cress,  tree-peony, 
sweet  alyssum,  godetia,  marigold,  ten  weeks' 
stock  and  baby's-breath. 

In  June  the  garden  will  be  In  full  flower;  the 
sweet  peas  will  enrich  the  air,  the  morning-glories 
will  open  their  eyes  to  the  sun  before  you  open 
your  own,  the  roses  will  unfold  their  damask 
to  the  butterfly,  the  lilies  will  arise  to  teach  their 
seldom-heeded  lesson  of  humility  and  worth,  the 
nasturtium  will  reflect  the  warmth  as  well  as  the 
light  of  summer,  and  while  the  fields  and  brook 
sides  are  ablaze  with  dandelion  and  buttercup, 
you,  In  your  pleached  garden  may  rejoice  in  the 
peony.  Iris,  wistaria,  pelargonium,  cineraria, 
marigold,  amaryllis,  and,  in  the  wild  garden,  the 
harebell,  Solomon's-seal,  shooting-star,  bunch- 
berry  and  columbine. 

Color  flows  In  high  tide  across  the  earth  in 
135 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

July.  All  the  tender  things  we  house  during  the 
cold  season  are  In  bearing  out  of  doors.  The 
locust  and  catalpa  have  dropped  their  blossoms, 
the  rhododendrons  are  passing,  but  the  syrlnga 
exhales  Its  luscious  odor,  If  It  Is  one  of  those 
years  when  It  deigns  to  do  so,  the  chestnut  Is 
putting  out  Its  belated,  rusty  looking  clusters;  In 
the  fields  are  seen  the  golden  stars  of  the  St. 
Johnswort,  the  button-bush,  pepper-bush,  and  In 
wild  ground  In  the  South  the  yucca  has  thrown 
up  Its  candelabrum  of  wax-white  blossoms;  while 
the  beds  are  aflame  with  zinnia,  crinum,  splrea, 
pansy,  pink,  bachelor's-button,  salplglossis,  the 
red  and  yellow  lilies,  coreopsis,  calceolaria,  ge- 
ranium, painted  daisy,  balsam,  cockscomb,  love- 
lies-bleeding,  four-o'clock,  galllardia,  phlox, 
nicotlana,  portulaca,  (this  seeds  Itself,  and  will 
grow  next  year,)  alyssum,  fuchsia,  scablosa, 
white  and  pink  yarrow,  sweet-william,  and  on 
our  arbors,  the  coboea,  honeysuckle,  moonflower, 
passion-flower  and  Dutchman's-pipe  are  span- 
gled with  bloom. 

The  fierce  heat  and  sultriness  of  August  are 
tempered  by  a  continuance  of  most  of  these  blos- 
soms, and  the  showering  of  the  garden  with  a 

136 


FLOWERS     IN     SEASON 

hose,  on  a  still,  warm  evening,  Is  a  more  compo- 
sing occupation  than  struggling  with  a  crowd 
at  the  beach  or  listening  to  rag-time  music  on  a 
roof.  The  vines  now  blooming  Include  not  only 
those  just  named,  but  the  wild  bean,  the  night- 
shade, the  balloon,  the  trumpet-creeper,  the  vir- 
gin's-bower,  the  Japanese  hop,  the  perennial  pea ; 
the  hydrangea  has  put  out  its  bunches  of  dull 
pink  and  greenish-white  flowers,  long  lasting; 
the  blue  spirea,  the  sweet  alder,  balm,  lychnis 
and  maurandia  are  at  their  showiest;  and  the 
giants,  the  sunflower  and  hollyhock,  lend  of 
their  pomp. 

September  continues  the  pageant  with  canna, 
gladiolus,  ageratum,  candytuft,  musk-plant,  cos- 
mos, heliotrope,  verbena,  zinnia,  funkia,  giant 
daisy,  rudbeckia,  dahlia,  mignonette;  the  cardi- 
nal-flower blazes  on  the  edge  of  the  damp  wood; 
the  witch-hazel  puts  out  its  uncanny  little  sprays; 
in  the  hills  the  sweet  peas  are  at  their  best;  there 
are  the  late  roses,  too,  and  the  dahlia,  poppy  and 
nasturtium  are  gay  in  the  country  gardens.  In 
the  bulb  corner  the  tiger-flower  and  blazing-star 
have  emerged,  the  Japanese  anemone  and  showy 
sedum  are  up  in  the  rockery,  the  boneset  is  feath- 
137     • 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

erlng  in  the  pastures,  the  pondweed  and  water- 
hly  add  color  and  fragrance  to  the  pools. 

In  October  the  flowers  are  In  rivalry  with  the 
trees,  for  the  mountain  sides  are  gardens,  and  the 
maple,  beech,  birch,  oak,  sumac,  brambles  and  a 
thousand  lowly  things  paint  the  scene  with  splen- 
dor. Now  the  asters,  wild  and  tame,  constellate 
the  gardens  and  the  roadsides,  and  late  golden- 
rods  add  touches  of  warmth  to  the  chilling  fields 
and  to  the  hollows  among  the  dunes.  If  the 
frosts  have  held  off,  the  stout  old  favorites 
of  the  garden  are  still  putting  forth  and  the  bees 
are  humming  over  them.  We  find  the  petunia, 
gaillardia,  alyssum,  candytuft,  clarkia,  godetia, 
marigold,  stock,  goldentuft,  poppy,  blue  spirea, 
sedum,  starwort,  sunflower,  hydrangea,  daisy 
fleabane,  which-hazel  and  swamp-flower.  We 
are  also  likely  to  find  freaks — plants  that  have 
decided  to  bloom  a  second  time  or  put  out  a  sec- 
ond crop  of  fruit.  I  have  seen  a  horse-chestnut, 
stripped  of  one  clothing  of  leaves  by  caterpillars 
in  a  birdless  town,  put  forth  a  new  crop  of  leaves 
and  a  multitude  of  blossoms  in  the  fall.  The 
last  rose  of  summer  may  be  found  blooming  in 
October.     I  have  never  been  in  the  country  in 

138 


FLOWERS     IN     SEASON 

that  month  when  I  have  failed  to  find  raspberries 
in  bearing,  and  in  the  White  Mountains,  after 
several  nights  of  frost,  I  have  battened  on  black- 
berries, and  have  noted  how  active  the  foxes  had 
been  in  gathering  the  fruit  before  me.  We  are 
liable  to  have  a  fresh  output  of  honeysuckle,  and 
the  dahlias  are  lingering.  Dandelions  I  have 
found  in  bloom  on  Long  Island  in  every  one  of 
the  twelve  months,  though  not  of  the  same  year. 
But  October  is  the  month  of  the  chrysanthemum, 
and  unless  the  weather  becomes  intolerably  cold 
it  lasts  into  November.  It  seems  as  if  nature 
made  a  final  effort  to  hold  the  admiration  of  her 
children;  hence  she  beams  up  from  the  fading 
earth  with  a  smile,  fitful  and  pathetic,  yet  as 
bright  as  summer. 

In  November  we  find  lingering  a  geranium, 
possibly,  or  a  petunia,  or  some  of  the  coarser  way- 
side growths,  but  the  beauty  of  the  garden  has 
passed,  unless  it  is  a  Southern  garden,  or  a  garden 
In  California,  for  there  it  is  always  spring  in  the 
air  and  summer  on  the  earth.  It  is  the  certainty 
of  winter,  however,  that  makes  us,  who  have  it, 
prize  the  fleeting  beauty  of  the  garden  all  the 
more,  though  we  may  envy  the  people  of  warm 
139 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

places  in  that  the  flowers  they  grow  are  so  large, 
so  gorgeous  and  so  late.  Not  that  this  Invari- 
ably applies,  for  some  plants  prefer  the  cold,  and 
I  have  never  seen  finer  sedums  than  are  grown  in 
the  public  gardens  of  Halifax,  nor  does  the 
camomile  put  out  bigger  blossoms  than  on  the 
rocky  shores  of  New  Brunswick. 

Maybe  you  would  prefer  to  plant  for  color, 
rather  than  for  season,  for  in  that  you  have  the 
joy  of  all  seasons.  When  I  am  rich  and  have  ten 
acres  I  shall  have  color  beds  in  my  garden,  so 
that  I  may  enjoy  a  blaze  of  yellow  now,  a  rous- 
ing, martial  red  at  another  time,  and  bring  down 
the  sky  upon  my  kingdom,  or  simulate  the  snows 
in  fragrant  white.  I  will  have  spaces  for  daffo- 
dils, yellow  iris,  cowslip,  yellow  lilies,  chrysan- 
themums, goldenrod,  cloth-of-gold  and  Persian 
roses,  calceolaria,  coreopsis,  coneflower,  colum- 
bine, clnquefoll,  canna,  helipterum,  marigold, 
nasturtium,  escholzia,  zinnia,  gaillardia,  golden- 
tuft,  St.  Johnswort,  black-eyed  Susans,  barberry, 
honeysuckle,  currant  goldenbell,  kerria  Japonica, 
dahlia,  yellow  water-lily,  buttercup,  elecampane, 
and  the  big,  honest  sunflower — we  raised  one 
last  summer  that  was  eighteen  inches  across  the 
140 


FLOWERS     IN     SEASON 

disk — while  in  the  borders  will  appear  the  yellow 
shades  of  alternanthera,  coleus,  pyrethrum,  Ire- 
sine  and  cockscomb. 

Then,  either  at  another  season  or  In  another 
place,  shall  be  a  bravery  of  red  roses,  blooming 
In  beds  edged  with  the  red  and  variegated  alter- 
nanthera, Ireslne  and  acalypha;  here,  too,  shall 
be  the  geranium,  the  cardinal-flower,  poppy, 
rhododendron,  azalea,  chrysanthemum,  aster, 
lotus,  salvia,  Chinese  primrose,  red  lilies, 
begonias,  morning-glories,  currant — a  reck- 
less mixture  of  species  and  seasons,  this — 
diervllla,  splrea,  Japanese  quince,  burning-bush, 
balm,  stock,  peony,  coral  bells,  phlox,  Japanese 
anemone,  carnation,  amaryllls,  gaillardia,  heli- 
chrysum,  portulaca,  verbena,  zinnia,  love-lies- 
bleeding,  and,  most  gorgeous  of  all,  the  cocks- 
comb. This  Is  not  a  true  flower,  but  nothing  in 
the  world  has  finer  color.  It  is  the  deepest,  rich- 
est red  conceivable;  the  most  Intense  ruby  and 
garnet ;  the  most  vivid  stripe  In  the  rainbow.  No 
rose  blows  more  glorious  red,  and  rarely  do  we 
see  the  like  at  sunset.  The  orange  cockscomb  Is 
no  less  wonderful,  and  as  a  decoration  we  need 
both. 

141 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

Then,  In  the  cooler  beds  of  pink  there  should 
be  hyacinth,  bouncing  Bet — don't  misprize  this 
fragrant  and  pretty  blossom  because  it  grows 
wild — amaranth,  balsam  pink,  clarkia,  cosmos, 
sweet  pea,  gillia,  bleeding-heart,  lychnis,  holly- 
hock, peony,  dianthus,  and  in  the  pond  the 
tinted  water-lily  and  that  splendid  borrowing 
from  the  East,  the  lotos,  though  this  likewise 
occurs  in  white  and  pale  blue,  as  to  its  flowers. 

In  the  blue  and  purple  beds  should  appear 
the  hyacinth,  grape  hyacinth,  fleur-de-lis,  violet, 
columbine,  cineraria,  heliotrope,  hyacinth  bean, 
mourning-bride,  ageratum,  bachelor's-button, 
lobelia,  nemophila,  blazing-star,  shooting-star, 
aster  and  larkspur. 

As  for  white,  there  is  no  end  to  it.  One  can 
help  himself  to  syringa,  weigelia,  rhododendron, 
azalea,  moonflower,  crocus,  hyacinth,  tulip,  iris, 
daisy,  rose,  lily,  water-lily,  lily-of-the-valley, 
achillea,  yucca,  nicotiana,  phlox,  sweet  pea,  sweet 
alyssum,  columbine,  tuberose,  stock,  rock-cress, 
candytuft,  geranium,  baby's-breath,  pansy,  aster, 
chrysanthemum,  petunia,  dahlia,  peony,  bean, 
honeysuckle,  snowball,  snow  drop,  hydrangea, 
and  so  on,  from  wistaria  down  to  portulaca. 
142 


FLOWERS     IN     SEASON 

All  this  time  I  am  not  forgetting  that  there 
are  to  be  lawns  to  frame  and  offset  these  splen- 
dors. Never  forget  that  grass  is  to  be  your  rich- 
est crop.  You  will  rest  in  its  color,  it  will  be  car- 
pet to  your  feet,  and  after  the  mowing  it  will 
reward  you  with  fragrance,  at  least,  if  you  have 
mixed  clover  with  it.  Our  soft-breasted  earth 
yields  treasure  to  her  children  for  the  asking,  yet 
never  in  such  free  wise  as  at  haying  time.  And 
by  keeping  to  beds  of  a  single  color,  as  you 
agree  to  leave  your  lawns  to  the  single  color, 
green,  you  gain  a  simplicity  which  the  eye  best 
comprehends.  You  need  not  sacrifice  variety  to 
obtain  it,  but  merely  allow  flowers  of  a  petal  to 
group  together.  They  are  happier  in  one  an- 
other's company  than  in  that  of  strangers. 


143 


VI 

THE    CHOICE    OF    FLOWERS 

In  making  a  choice  of  flowers  for  the  home 
garden  do  not  buy  exotics  and  tender  things. 
They  will  not  grow,  at  least,  without  housing  in 
the  winter;  and  if  you  own  the  usual  little  house 
and  little  patch  of  ground  around  or  back  of  it, 
you  can  hardly  add  a  conservatory  to  your  estab- 
lishment. Plant  the  hardy  things.  And  first  of 
them  is  the  rose.  This  flower,  in  Its  various 
phases  modest,  flaunting;  demure,  sumptuous; 
timid,  aggressive;  solitary,  social.  Is  probably  the 
oldest  of  all  the  treasures  of  the  garden.  It 
Is  the  flower  of  Venus  and  of  Mary;  it  has 
wreathed  the  brows  of  emperors  and  martyrs,  of 
poets  and  revelers;  it  has  figured,  not  merely  in 
sentimental  and  religious  traditions,  like  those 
of  St.  Rose  and  St.  Elizabeth,  but  In  history,  for 
had  we  not  a  war  of  the  roses?  Of  our  garden 
It  Is  queen;  or  shall  we  give  that  rank  to  the  lily, 
and  greet  the  rose  as  king?  There  Is  a  mascu- 
144 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

line,  rather  than  a  feminine  splendor  in  the  Amer- 
ican beauty — a  French  v^ariety,  by  the  way,  that 
thrives  best  in  our  soil — and  the  habit  of  the 
bush,  in  taking  what  it  wants,  and  in  clinging  to 
its  vantage  in  the  soil,  is  virile.  The  old-fash- 
ioned, sturdy  kinds  are  best :  those  that  defy  the 
seasons  and  outlive  neglect  and  wreck.  Last 
fall  while  scrambling  through  a  lonely  region  in 
the  Green  Mountains,  I  came  upon  a  cellar  on  a 
deserted  farm.  The  building  which  once  stood 
above  it  had  entirely  rotted  down,  a  jungle  of 
vegetation  covered  its  dooryard,  but  tall  and 
strong  above  a  thicket  of  raspberries  stood  a 
bush  of  damask  roses,  flaunting  year  after  year, 
untended  and  unseen.  Of  all  that  the  farmer 
had  planted,  this  and  a  few  gnarly  apple-trees 
survived.  The  homeliness  of  farm  life  had  van- 
ished, and  a  faint  echo  of  its  beauty  came  out  of 
the  past.  Three  or  four  miles  away  I  culled  a 
bouquet  from  a  self-extended  thicket  of  crimson 
roses  before  another  deserted  place.  Now, 
plants  that  behave  like  that  are  good  to  know, 
and  to  grow  up  with.  They  are  as  reliable  as 
grass.  Their  yearly  appearance,  their  opulence 
of  scent  and  color,  endear  them  to  us  as  home 
145 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

Is  endeared;  for  they  become,  literally,  a  part  of 
it.  I  hope  to  see,  one  day,  such  rose  farms  as 
they  have  in  France  and  Persia ;  acres,  yes,  miles 
of  red  and  white,  grown  for  the  attar  and  other 
extracts,  but  though  we  have  none  of  them  we 
can  still  make  our  gardens  beautiful.  For  some 
nurserymen  are  devoting  themselves  entirely  to 
roses,  thereby  seeming  to  betoken  the  unfailing 
popularity  of  the  flower,  and  their  list  of  vari- 
eties is  surprising,  not  to  say,  confusing.  After 
trying  sundry  of  the  new  strains  I  go  back  to  the 
standards  with  increasing  satisfaction.  The  new 
varieties,  especially  those  of  dwarf  habit,  deli- 
cate color  and  tea  fragrance,  are  floral  toys,  made 
only  for  the  greenhouse,  or  for  balmy  lands 
where  the  natives  never  feel  the  invigorating 
frosts  of  the  North.  At  least,  my  experience  is 
that  such  roses  peak  and  pine  out  of  doors,  even 
in  genial  weather,  they  are  subject  to  insect  pests 
and  diseases  that  less  affect  the  larger  bushes, 
and  they  are  uncertain  in  their  blooming.  Of  a 
number  that  I  set  out  in  a  sheltered  yard  one 
summer,  all  died  but  two  or  three,  and  they  ex- 
hausted themselves  in  putting  forth  their  buds. 
Last  summer  a  dwarf  plant  gave  birth  to  a  huge 
146 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

pink  rose,  as  large  as  a  La  France  and  of  fine 
fragrance,  but  it  killed  itself  a-doing  it,  for  so 
soon  as  the  petals  fell  the  bush  shriveled  into  the 
ground  and  was  seen  no  more.  Wherefore,  I 
say,  place  your  reliance  on  the  tried  and  true, 
unless  you  have  a  greenhouse,  or  desire  to  ex- 
periment. The  best  of  roses  will  not  grow  for 
us  In  the  East  as  their  humbler  sisters  will  flour- 
ish for  the  Californians,  but  the  effort  to  bring 
them  to  a  sturdy  maturity  is  self-rewarding.  Of 
the  better  known  of  the  tea-roses,  mention  is  due 
to  the  Marechal  Niel,  La  France,  Mermet,  Bon 
Silene,  Bride,  Meteor  and  Mme.  de  Wattevllle. 
These  do  well  in  the  South,  but  do  not  look  to 
see  them  survive  a  New  England  winter  out  of 
doors.  Of  the  reliable  kinds  there  are,  among 
the  reds,  the  Jacqueminot,  often  called  Jacks  by 
florists,  Rosiere,  De  Rohan,  Wilder,  Verdier, 
Carriere,  Rothschild,  D'Aumale,  Libaud,  Ber- 
nardin,  Neyron  and  Bruner;  among  the  pinks. 
Magna  Charta,  Favorite,  Christy,  Prince  of 
Wales,  Prevost,  Lyonnaise,  Rothschild  and  Ver- 
dier; of  the  white  and  blush  roses,  Mrs.  Paul, 
Elise  Boelle,  Mabel  Morrison,  Margaret  Dick- 
son, Altaica,  Perle  des  Blanches,  Hybrid  China ; 
147 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

of  the  moss-roses,  Hermosa  and  Clothllde  Sou- 
pert;  and  there  are  the  climbers,  Dawson,  Car- 
mine, Pillar,  Wichuriana,  Seven  Sisters,  Thalia, 
Prairie  Queen — sturdiest  of  them — and  Mary 
Washington. 

It  may  be  that  some  of  the  old  strains  do 
not  bear  as  they  did;  that  they  have  been  urged 
to  exhaustion,  like  the  potato,  for  the  scientists 
tell  us  how  in  propagating  this  tuber  from  eyes, 
instead  of  seed,  we  have  violated  the  method  of 
nature,  and  as  a  consequence,  the  potato  will  dis- 
appear, along  with  the  buffalo,  the  dodo  and  the 
Indian.  You  have  noticed,  of  course,  that  po- 
tato plants  seldom  bear  their  balls  or  seed  pods 
now,  although  they  did  thirty  years  ago.  It  is 
against  the  popularity  of  the  rose  that,  on  some 
bushes,  the  flowers  do  not  remain  so  long  as  could 
be  wished,  yet  there  are  other  varieties  which  are 
quite  as  enduring  as  any  other  plant  that  we 
grow,  unless  we  may  except  the  geranium.  I 
have  had  a  hybrid  blooming  In  my  yard  for  a 
month  together,  and  it  often  happens  that  a 
second  crop  of  flowers  appears  In  the  fall.  This 
Is  a  bushy  rose,  six  feet  high,  bearing  flowers  of 
mingled  pink  and  white.  We  are  told  that  once, 
148 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

when  St.  Francis  of  AssisI  was  tempted  by- 
thoughts  of  comfort  and  sufficiency,  he  rushed 
from  his  cell,  stripped  off  his  robe,  and  rolled  In 
the  snow.  There  were  briers  In  the  drifts,  and 
wherever  they  brought  blood  the  snow  disap- 
peared and  the  crimsoned  stalks  burst  Into 
bloom;  but,  lo !  only  half  the  petals  were  red: 
the  others  were  as  white  as  the  snow  and  stain- 
less as  the  spirit  of  the  saint.  My  rose,  I  think, 
came  from  Asslsl. 

I  require  that  a  rose  have  fragrance,  whether 
it  has  endurance  or  not.  Hence,  I  have  small 
enthusiasm  for  the  ramblers,  crimson,  yellow  and 
white,  that  have  attained  a  sudden  vogue  with 
us,  and  that  produce  bunches  of  small,  papery, 
scentless  flowers.  For  me  they  produced  noth- 
ing, for  they  died  promptly  and  made  way  for 
something  stouter.  Yet  they  are  pleasant  to 
look  at:  these  wiry  little  climbers.  They  are 
decorative;  they  bear  hundreds  of  blooms.  In 
clusters  as  large  as  a  fist;  and  when  they  spring 
from  a  congenial  soil  they  climb  vigorously  and 
their  leaves  are  green  and  wholesome,  therein 
contrasting  with  the  foliage  of  some  relatives, 
which  turns  rusty,  at  least,  In  town,  and  is  much 
149 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

beset  by  worms,  beetles  and  thrip.  The  two 
former  you  often  dislodge  when  you  shower  the 
plant  with  a  hose,  and  you  may  throw  some  of 
them  to  the  ground  by  shaking  the  bush,  in  which 
case  you  will  shake  off  more  petals  than  insects; 
but  the  thrip,  which  in  its  nymphal  form  is  a 
whitish  fly,  hardly  an  eighth  of  an  inch  long, 
with  a  baffling,  parabolic  manner  of  flight,  clings 
to  the  under  side  of  the  leaves  and  escapes  wet- 
ting and  observation.  Soot  has  been  used  to 
destroy  these  vermin,  but  a  bush  covered  with 
soot  is  even  more  unsightly  than  a  bush  covered 
with  parasites,  because  you  can  see  the  soot. 
And  again,  there  is  not  much  soot  in  town;  at 
least,  there  should  not  be,  for  it  gathers  thickest 
where  we  permit  the  burning  of  soft  coal  and 
the  making  of  impure  gas — enemies  of  gardens, 
by  the  bye.  Powdered  white  hellebore,  in  solu- 
tion, syringed  over  the  bushes,  is  said  to  be  harm- 
ful to  thrip.  If  the  new  ramblers  are  unsavory  to 
these  little  feeders,  that,  to  be  sure,  is  a  reason 
for  cultivating  them;  yet  I  think  there  is  no  plant 
that  is  not  a  joy  to  some  manner  of  creature  that 
we  believe  ought  not  to  be  there. 

Why  is  it  that  we  see  so  few  of  the  yellow 
150 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

roses  any  more  ?  Has  our  use  of  the  term  yellow, 
as  an  adjective  of  contempt,  and  applied  to  vul- 
gar and  vicious  things,  made  us  afraid  of  using 
this  joyous  color?  True,  you  see  magnificent 
cloth-of-gold  roses  on  the  Pacific  slope,  great 
vines  and  bushes  of  them  that  bury  a  cottage 
out  of  sight,  and  Yankeedom  clings  to  its  old 
Persians,  but  the  yellow  rose  has  elsewhere  fallen 
into  a  neglect  that  is  wholly  undeserved.  Let  us 
not  revolt  at  a  mere  name.  We  are  assured,  on 
high  authority,  that  a  rose  by  any  other  name 
will  smell  as  sweet.  Where  the  yellow  roses 
bloom,  one  spot  of  earth  is  gay  with  sunshine. 
The  sun  may  shine  in  our  north,  too ;  at  least,  the 
growers  vouch  for  the  hardiness  of  the  standards 
and  especially  commend  the  Belle  Lyonnaise, 
Harrison's  Yellow  and  the  Persian.  If  you  buy 
them,  get  such  as  are  "  on  their  own  roots" — 
that  is,  not  grafted — for  they  are  strongest,  and 
flower  most  plentifully. 

Of  late  some  use  has  been  made  of  the  rosa 
rugosa,  a  wild  variety  from  Asia,  in  parks,  hotel 
lawns  and  other  places  where  strong  vegetation 
and  solid  masses  of  green  are  needed.  A  bush 
of  it  is  not  a  bad  centerpiece  for  the  little  gar- 
"  151 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

den,  for  it  bears  abundance  of  pink  and  white 
flowers,  bright  and  cheerful  in  color  quality,  and 
single  or  double,  as  may  chance;  while  its  big 
red  haws  are  almost  as  decorative  as  flowers. 
Our  common  wild  rose  or  sweet-brier  is  one  of 
the  pleasantest  of  familiars,  and  one  of  the  most 
fragrant;  but  it  is  not  lasting,  and  it  can  not  be 
cut  for  bouquets,  which  facts,  no  doubt,  have 
prevented  it  from  gaining  a  hold  in  our  gardens 
it  might  otherwise  deserve.  Whatever  roses  we 
employ,  it  is  best  to  group  them  into  beds  or 
clusters,  or  keep  them  near  the  fence,  if  the 
ground  is  small.  In  November  they  will  endure 
the  cutting  out  of  weak  growths,  and  in  the 
spring,  of  sprawly  new  ones.  Some  gardeners 
cut  down  all  roses  to  within  a  few  inches  of  the 
ground,  at  the  coming  on  of  winter.  Though 
my  own  roses  have  defied  cold  weather,  it  is  sa- 
fest to  wrap  the  stems  in  sacks  when  snow  is  due, 
to  heap  earth  above  the  roots,  and  strew  old 
manure  and  straw  over  the  beds.  A  spring 
manuring  does  more  good  than  fertilizing  in  the 
fall,  but  the  snow  covers  from  sight  what  is 
never  pleasant,  while  In  the  spring  the  plant 
food  asserts  itself  to  at  least  two  senses. 
152 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

Next  in  Importance  to  our  roses — to  many 
the  most  important  of  all  the  garden  contents, 
since  they  are  the  largest  objects,  and  have  the 
use  not  alone  of  beauty  but  of  hiding  the  un- 
beautiful — are  vines.  And  by  all  means  culti- 
vate a  honeysuckle.  Train  it  over  a  trellis  at 
your  back  door,  or  over  a  part  of  your  fence. 
If  you  have  any  sheds  or  unsightly  buildings  on 
your  premises,  cover  them  with  it.  Its  flowers 
are  not  much  to  look  at,  but  the  deep,  strong 
green  of  its  leaves  stays  through  the  winter,  at 
least  where  it  mats  together,  and  there  is  nothing 
more  delicious  than  the  odor  breathed  through 
its  tiny  trumpets  in  call  to  the  bee.  If  I  could 
have  but  ten  flowers  they  should  be  the  rose, 
lily,  lily-of-the-valley,  lilac,  nasturtium,  petunia, 
pansy,  sweet  pea,  aster  and  honeysuckle.  This 
vine  can  safely  be  left  to  itself,  once  it  has  been 
started,  and  it  needs  no  more  than  occasional 
thinning  out,  for  it  has  a  tendency,  on  arbors 
and  summer-houses,  to  put  out  such  masses  of 
leaves,  and  to  so  knot  and  twine  itself  together 
that  it  forms  a  screen  against  the  air  and  light. 
It  can  be  employed  to  cover  walls  of  brick  or 
stone,  and  there  is  an  estate  in  Tarrytown,  N.  Y., 

153 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

which  for  a  mile  is  hedged  with  honeysuckle. 
A  walk  past  the  grounds  on  a  quiet  evening,  with 
delicate  incense  pouring  from  a  million  censers, 
is  a  memorable  experience.  It  can  also  be  grown 
near  the  sea,  and  visitors  to  Brighton  Beach  will 
recall  the  veranda  of  the  immense  hotel,  partly 
overgrown  with  honeysuckle,  its  exquisite  fra- 
grance mingling  with  the  saline  pungency  of  the 
ocean  that  roars  and  pounds  but  a  stone's  toss 
distant. 

A  useful  and  handsome  vine  of  larger  ex- 
pansion and  more  rapid  growth  is  variously 
known  as  Boston  ivy,  Japanese  ivy,  and  ampelop- 
sis.  It  has  a  leaf  resembling  that  of  the  maple, 
only  more  compact  and  shiny,  and  in  October 
It  vies  with  that  tree  in  the  beauty  of  its  color. 
It  is  almost  the  only  plant  that  shows  autumnal 
tints  in  town,  for  there  is  that  in  the  air  of  a  city 
which  causes  vegetation  to  rust  and  wither  when 
it  has  ripened,  instead  of  taking  on  the  sunset 
glories  of  the  woods.  This  ivy  is  a  tremendous 
grower.  It  will  blanket  a  three-story  front  in  a 
couple  of  years,  and  sprawl  over  two  or  three 
buildings  on  either  side.  It  throws  out  hundreds 
of  branchlets  that  dangle  from  the  stronger  stems 
154 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

and  are  covered  with  tiny  resinous  drops.  These 
are  to  be  persistently  snipped  away,  for  they  will 
creep  in  at  window-casings,  between  sashes, 
through  area  gates,  under  doors  and  over  chim- 
neys; they  will  fasten  their  little  suckers  against 
stone,  brick  or  wood;  and  pretty  Instances  of  this 
covering  occur  in  the  permanent  awnings  of  wire, 
which  are  supports  for  the  Ivy  and  make  a  frame 
of  green  for  the  view,  as  seen  from  within. 

Another  quick-growing,  wide-spreading  vine, 
of  use  in  covering  displeasing  buildings  and  bar- 
ring dull  views  or  transforming  tall  fences,  is  the 
cobaa  scandens.  Its  large  leaves  are  of  especial 
service  in  concealments,  although  It  has  not  the 
charm  of  fragrance  and  Its  flowers  are  less  beau- 
tiful than  those  of  some  other  creepers  and  ding- 
ers. It  may  cause  trouble  from  the  reckless  way 
in  which  It  extends  Itself,  for  It  will  lay  hold  upon 
anything,  whether  clothes-lines  or  flower-stems, 
and  seem  to  mock  the  efforts  made  to  curb  its 
pranks. 

In  the  country,  too,  they  are  beginning  to  see 
that  the  common  gourd,  cucumber,  squash  and 
pumpkin  vines  are  of  value  as  curtains  and  deco- 
rations.    The  pumpkin,  especially,  with  Its  big 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

leaves,  can  be  taught  to  clamber  over  sheds,  rick- 
ety walls  and  fences,  stone-heaps,  ash-heaps  and 
other  disagreeable  happenings,  while  it  makes  a 
superb  setting  for  a  back  door.  Take  one  pump- 
kin out  of  the  corn-field,  and  let  it  have  the  run 
of  the  back  porch. 

The  wistaria,  beloved  in  the  East,  but  in  none 
too  common  use  in  our  country,  is  a  pleasant  vine 
and  an  early  bloomer,  putting  out  compound 
leaves  that  are  light  and  graceful,  and  fine  clus- 
ters of  white  or  pale-purple  flowers  that  look 
almost  like  bunches  of  ripening  grapes,  at  a  little 
distance.  These  pendant  masses  of  color  are 
particularly  charming,  and  are  unlike  the  bloom 
of  any  other  cultivated  vine.  The  Japanese 
make  an  effective  use  of  the  wistaria  as  an  en- 
hancement to  the  grace  of  arches  and  bridges, 
the  screening  of  rockwork,  and  in  covering  the 
trellises  of  tea-gardens.  Vines  in  full  flower  sug- 
gest jets  of  water  leaping  from  a  fountain's  lip, 
or  the  shower  of  colored  lights  from  a  rocket. 
The  wistaria  is  of  slow  growth,  and  in  our  cli- 
mate requires  years  to  establish  itself;  still,  once 
with  you,  it  means  to  stay.  Its  stem  grows  thick 
and  tough,  it  strengthens  itself  by  gnarling  its 

156 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

various  branches  together,  and  it  grasps  a  tree 
with  a  veritable  strangle  hold.  One  in  a  yard 
in  New  York  has  put  out  a  mass  of  wood  nearly 
equal  to  the  tree  that  supports  it — an  aged  tulip, 
I  think — and  were  the  tree  to  fall,  the  immense 
trunk  of  the  wistaria  might  continue  to  hold  the 
mass  of  the  vine  somewhat  above  the  earth. 

There  is  nothing  like  morning-glory  for  cov- 
ering fences  and  sheds.  Once  admit  this  vine 
and  it  will  befriend  you  forever.  If  it  remained 
where  you  put  it  you  could  make  no  objection, 
but  it  will  by  no  means  do  that.  Its  flowers  of 
white,  pink,  purple,  delicate  mauve  and  blue 
would  justify  it  for  your  use,  even  if  its  clean  and 
thrifty  foliage  did  not.  It  is  a  swift  grower,  a 
copious  bloomer,  a  useful  and  pretty  plant,  that 
deserves  not  to  be  discouraged.  In  Dayton,  O., 
where  so  much  has  been  done  to  make  mechanic 
labor  content  with  its  lot — so  much  in  the  way  of 
prizes,  free  libraries,  reading-rooms,  recreation- 
rooms,  cost-price  restaurants,  baths,  rest-rooms, 
gardens,  medical  service,  sanitation,  music,  lec- 
tures, picnics,  schools;  and  after  all,  this  did  not 
prevent  a  long  and  bitter  strike — a  successful 
effort  has  been  made  to  reform  the  appearance 
157 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

of  a  rowdy  district  through  the  use  of  flowers, 
lawns,  vines,  window-boxes  and  greenery.  The 
effect  has  been  reformatory,  not  merely  on  the 
appearance  of  the  quarter,  but  on  the  character 
of  Its  dwellers,  for  It  has  become  one  of  the  quiet- 
est and  most  agreeable  sections  of  the  city. 
Until  the  renters  were  stimulated  by  offers  of 
money  for  the  best  kept  yards,  the  houses  near 
the  factories  had  a  forlorn  environment.  They 
were  surrounded  by  trampled  grass,  weeds,  rick- 
ety constructions  and  refuse.  Now,  a  view  over 
the  fences  behind  a  house  row  will  disclose  abun- 
dance of  flowers,  and  the  morning-glory  Is  espe- 
cially in  evidence  as  a  covering  for  the  fences. 
It  fairly  loads  those  partitions  with  bloom  and 
leafage,  and  we  have  a  park  or  garden  where  all 
was  squalor.  The  morning-glories  are  actually 
rampant,  and  they  pile  upon  the  fence  like  green 
breakers,  flashing  with  multi-colored  bubbles  In 
the  early  sun. 

When  the  architecture  is  worth  while  we  do 
not  want  to  conceal  it;  and  in  alm.ost  any  event 
we  do  not  wish  to  cover  it  with  vines  so  thickly 
that  the  purpose  or  form  of  the  construction  be- 
comes a  matter  for  surmise.    If  Boston  Ivy,  for 

■    158 


:5HAU£    AND    BLOOM    IN    PROFLSiON. 


BEDS    OF    LETTUCE. 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

example,  were  In  the  habit  of  throwing  long 
twists  of  branches  or  bunches  of  flowers  Into  the 
air,  at  right  angles  to  Its  upright  growth,  we 
should  not  be  sure  of  the  form  of  the  house  on 
which  It  grew;  but  as  It  Is,  we  lose  nothing  of 
the  shape,  because  It  fits  Itself  so  snugly  to  the 
bricks.  Vines  that  pour  over  the  premises, 
throwing  a  deep  shade,  especially  through  the 
windows  and  Into  the  living-rooms,  are  to  be 
avoided;  and  so  are  those,  for  house-front  use, 
that  wilt  and  turn  yellow  or  rot  with  dampness 
or  frost.  •  Our  morning-glory  Is  not  for  attach- 
ment to  houses,  unless  It  Is  ruthlessly  displaced 
when  It  has  ceased  to  be  green  and  to  bear 
flowers. 

Experienced  physicians  can  practise  medi- 
cine with  ten  drugs,  and  gardeners  can  produce 
all  the  effects  they  wish  with  half  the  variety  of 
plants  that  the  amateur  considers  needful.  So, 
with  wistaria,  Ivy,  ampelopsis,  honeysuckle  and 
morning-glory,  one  hardly  requires  to  extend  his 
knowledge  of  vines;  yet  If  conditions  of  soil  or 
climate  exact  It,  he  can  add  or  substitute  for  these 
indispensables  the  prolific  cobaea,  the  excellent 
aristolochia,  the  moonflower,  the  trumpet-vine, 
159 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

the  Madeira  vine,  the  canary-bird  vine,  the  cy- 
press-vine, the  scarlet  runner,  the  perennial  pea, 
the  Japanese  clematis,  the  matrimony-vine  and 
the  passion-vine  with  its  broad  and  open  blossom 
in  which  pious  teachers  of  the  faith  discovered 
the  sacred  symbols:  the  crown  of  thorns  in  the 
corona,  the  stigmas  representing  the  nails,  and 
the  anthers  the  wounds.  Our  native  passion- 
flower, by  the  bye,  produces  a  berry  which  is 
eaten  by  some  people.  A  deal  of  food  goes  to 
waste  in  this  country  from  not  knowing  where 
to  find  or  how  to  use  it.  We  must  also  remember 
the  hop,  w^hich  can  be  trained  over  large  spaces. 
These  are  all  easy  growers,  generous  in  bloom. 
In  remoter  parts  of  the  country  grounds,  where 
ledgy  and  unkempt  areas  invite  them,  we  can  em- 
ploy the  roadside  growths.  There  is  the  bitter- 
sweet,  for  instance,  a  skilful  climber,  dappled 
with  orange  berries,  in  the  season;  there  is  clem- 
atis, or  traveler's  joy — though  why  it  is  more 
of  a  joy  to  the  traveler  than  wild  grapes  and 
blackberries  I  never  could  tell — with  its  hoary 
tufts  and  its  decorative  leaves;  there  is  our  wood- 
bine, whose  leaves  rival  the  flowers  in  their  Oc- 
tober coloring;  and  there  is  even  poison-ivy, 
1 60 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

though  It  Is  best  to  show  consideration  for  the 
pubHc,  and  to  check  this,  rather  than  extend  It. 
It  Is  not  an  Ill-looking  vegetable,  and  In  the  fall 
it  often  takes  on  ripe  and  delicate  tones  of  pink 
and  orange  which  make  It  ornamental,  and  the 
harm  it  does,  to  such  as  can  be  harmed,  is  com- 
monly due  to  the  fact  that  It  is  so  little  recognized. 
It  is  sometimes  mistaken  for  woodbine,  albeit 
the  plants  are  quite  unlllie.  If  the  leaves  occur 
in  fives  you  are  to  know  that  It  is  woodbine,  and 
you  may  put  a  finger  on  each  leaflet;  but  If  they 
are  in  threes,  It  is  poison-ivy,  and  you  are  to  treat 
it  with  respect.  I  handle  it  without  gloves  and 
with  Impunity,  as  I  fancy  most  people  can  do; 
yet  I  have  known  persons  to  break  Into  unseemly 
eruptions  merely  because  they  had  passed  to  lee- 
ward of  a  thicket  of  this  plant.  In  Chlckamauga, 
the  site  of  the  great  camp  during  the  Spanish 
War,  this  weed  grew  as  plentifully  as  the  black 
snakes,  yet  there  were  hardly  more  than  tv/o  or 
three  soldiers  to  a  company  who  showed  the  ill- 
effects  of  contact  with  It,  though  the  tales  they 
told  of  the  power  of  "  poison-ivory"  were  dismal 
enough,  and  their  appearance,  with  swollen  faces, 
patched  with  ointment,  which  gave  to  them  a 
i6i 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

peculiar  ghastliness,   roused  unfeeling  laughter 
from  the  immune. 

There  is  one  other  vine,  which  we  seldom 
cultivate  as  such,  yet  that  is  useful  where  it  is 
not  desired  to  carry  vegetation  to  a  greater 
height  than  five  or  six  feet,  and  that  is  the  nas- 
turtium. This  usually  grows  so  thinly  when  it 
is  carried  upright  that  there  is  no  danger  of  its 
throwing  the  shade  that  the  larger  and  heavier 
climbers  will  cast.  And  of  course,  there  are  the 
sweet  peas,  but  we  are  to  regard  them  less  as 
vines  than  as  garden  plants.  Vines  are  rather 
more  human  than  shrubs.  They  are  selfish. 
They  grasp  for  support,  and  do  not  care  what  it 
is  they  rise  by,  so  long  as  they  rise.  We  say  that 
the  plant  does  not  think,  and  possibly  it  does  not, 
but  its  career  symbolizes  all  life,  and  nothing  in 
the  physiology  of  the  walking  races  is  more  won- 
derful than  its  adjustment  of  pistil  and  stamens 
to  propagation  by  means  of  the  insect  that  feeds 
upon  it.  Yet  I  am  by  no  means  sure  that  the 
vine  does  not  see  and  feel  and  think,  and  in  the 
wilful  and  unaccountable  conduct  of  morning- 
glories  and  sweet  peas  in  reaching  across  spaces 
for  support — how  otherwise  do  they  know  It  is 
162 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

there? — we  have  matter  for  deeper  study  than 
other  garden  problems  offer. 

So  surely  as  our  garden  has  roses  it  should 
have  lilies.  With  roses,  lilies  and  vines  it  is  a 
garden  in  sooth.  These  flowers  are  apart  from 
most  others  in  form  and  mode  of  growth,  and 
they  are  of  surpassing  loveliness.  In  their  ex- 
quisite purity,  their  white  humility,  their  exceed- 
ing fragrance,  which  one  breathes  with  a  sort  of 
rapture,  they  stir,  not  merely  admiration  but 
emotions  akin  to  those  we  feel  in  contemplating 
the  qualities  of  the  lily  in  a  member  of  the  human 
family:  emotions  of  affection,  touched  with  rev- 
erence. These  are  flowers  that  saints  have  borne 
about  the  earth,  and  are  thought  to  bloom  in 
heaven.  The  old  masters  show  the  angels 
WTeathed  with  lilies.  And  they  consort  charm- 
ingly with  the  rose;  that  is,  their  simplicity  and 
silver  whiteness  make  them  a  foil  to  the  other 
flower,  passionate,  rich  colored,  and  its  slender 
leaves  are  a  contrast  to  the  luxuriant  bush. 
When  we  have  planted  a  rose,  a  substantial,  free- 
blooming  damask,  or  a  hearty  old  cabbage-rose, 
at  the  back  of  a  bed,  it  can  have  no  better  com- 
pany than  a  lily.     Remember :  we  can  use  white 

163 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

with  anything,  except  black,  which  fortunately 
does  not  occur  In  flowers,  but  only  In  the  evening 
dress  of  men — and  dreadful  guys  they  look  at 
night,  as  their  great-grandchildren  will  tell  them 
a  hundred  years  from  now.  Though  a  trifle  tall 
for  a  border,  any  or  all  of  the  lilies  will  make  a 
good  appearance  against  a  green  background, 
care  being  taken  to  avoid  such  other  contrasts 
as  cheapen  the  red  and  yellow  of  some  varieties 
when  placed  near  other  flowers.  The  wood-lily 
and  tiger-lily,  for  example,  are  of  a  tawny  or 
foxy  shade  that  suffers  by  contact  with  the  crim- 
son of  a  rose,  the  pink  of  a  peony  or  even  the 
scarlet  of  a  geranium.  They  can  better  abide 
near  zinnias,  marigolds,  nasturtiums  and  core- 
opsis. Of  hardy  varieties,  like  the  candldum, 
auratum,  speciosum,  longiflorum,  tenulfolium 
and  funkia,  all  are  safe  to  plant  about  the  be- 
ginning of  November,  In  partly  shaded  beds, 
at  a  depth  of  five  or  six  Inches,  and  during  their 
first  winter  out  of  doors  the  bulbs  should  also 
be  protected  with  a  mat  of  leaves,  or  old  manure. 
Other  plants  ask  the  same  kindness,  In  their  first 
winter,  and  It  Is  as  well  to  grant  it  to  all  of  them, 
whether  they  ask  It  or  not.  The  loss  by  frost 
164 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

will  be  less,  and  the  bloom  will  be  earlier  and 
more  abundant. 

Bearing  the  name  of  lily,  but  of  a  different 
family  from  our  queens,  is  the  llly-of-the-valley, 
a  pearl  In  the  garden  crown,  a  blossom  with 
spring  In  Its  breath,  a  symbol  of  Innocence  and 
humihty.  The  only  fault  I  urge  against  this 
plant  Is  that  It  does  not  bloom  forever.  That 
it  is  said  to  be  a  poison  affects  me  not  a  whit, 
so  long  as  it  feeds  my  eye  and  nose.  Leave  a 
little  space  for  it  in  the  shade  of  the  house,  or  of 
the  wall,  enrich  It,  and  leave  It  to  Itself.  Its 
hardiness  commends  It  for  the  carpeting  of  odd 
spots  that  are  shady  and  damp,  though  myrtle, 
moneywort  and  partrldge-vlne  are  better  liked 
because  they  grow  more  thickly,  and  their  green 
lasts  longer. 

So  close  akin  to  the  lily  In  leaf,  form,  shape 
of  flower  and  carriage  of  It  that  they  are  sup- 
posed by  many  to  belong  to  the  same  family,  are 
the  zephyranthes,  which  put  up  a  six-lobed  bell 
of  pink;  the  tigrldia,  topped  with  a  fantastic, 
orchld-like  blossom  of  a  scarlet,  at  once  soft  and 
bright;  the  amaryllls,  of  a  red  usually  more  sul- 
len, though  rich  and  deep,  and  a  habit  more 
i6s 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

assertive ;  and  the  crlnium,  even  more  proud  and 
flaunting.  But  all  these  require  coddling.  They 
must  be  taken  in  during  the  winter,  and  rested; 
or  they  can  be  kept  Indoors  as  window-plants; 
and  at  best  they  are  uncertain.  An  amaryllls 
that  bloomed  regularly  and  splendidly  on  a  hill 
farm  In  Vermont,  behaved  sulkily  when  It  was 
translated  to  New  York,  though  It  did  give 
a  good  account  of  Itself  a  year  or  two  later.  If 
one  has  no  greenhouse,  or  cold  frame,  he  may 
feel  obliged  to  forego  the  cultivation  of  many 
flowers  that  tempt  him  In  the  seedsmen's  cata- 
logues ;  yet  a  dry,  clean  cellar,  w^hlch  Is  cool  but 
never  frosted,  sufl^ces  for  the  keeping  of  bulbs, 
tubers,  corms  and  roots  that  require  removal 
from  the  soil  for  the  winter.  Such  roots  ought 
to  be  first  dried,  then  placed  In  paper  bags, 
plainly  labeled  In  Ink,  and  so  stored  on  shelves 
or  In  boxes  that  the  name  shall  be  upmost,  for 
otherwise  moisture  from  the  root  may  obliterate 
the  writing,  and  I  have  found  that  one  Is  able  to 
forget  various  things  between  November  and 
March — so  many  that.  In  the  first  season,  at  any 
rate,  It  Is  well  to  mark  the  place  of  each  plant 
with  a  stake,  (a  clothespin  will  do,)  after  its 
i66 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

stems  have  died  down.  Because  of  neglecting 
this  I  have  played  mischief  with  some  of  the 
hardy  things  in  the  soil;  I  have  attempted,  for 
Instance,  to  set  out  heliotrope  and  mignonette  In 
spots  already  occupied  by  tulips  and  chrysanthe- 
mums, with  results  disadvantageous  to  the  latter. 
A  faithful  gardener  will  not  only  indicate  his 
burled  treasures  by  stakes  or  stones,  but  he  will 
make  a  map  of  his  territory  and  mark  upon  it 
the  place  and  name  of  each  of  them. 

For  early  bloom,  among  the  hardy  species, 
we  rely  on  the  crocus,  hyacinth,  grape  hyacinth, 
narcissus,  daffodil,  snowdrop,  snowflake,  tulip, 
squill  and  trilllum.  These  all  arise  from  bulbs, 
which  should  be  planted  in  three  Inches  of  light 
loam  in  the  fall,  but  which  are  sometimes  put 
into  the  earth  on  a  mild  day  In  January,  when 
there  is  no  frost  In  the  bed,  and  when  they  are 
well  mulched  to  prevent  nipping  by  frosts  that 
are  sure  to  pinch  our  noses  before  spring  fairly 
opens.  The  bulb  plants,  particularly  the  crocus, 
squill  and  tulip,  are  excellent  for  massing.  The 
others  are  at  their  best  when  planted  as  borders. 

None  of  these,  save  the  tulip,  which  makes  all 
too  brief  a  show,  gives  to  the  garden  the  richness 
"  167 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

that  comes  to  It  later  in  the  season,  when  the 
dahha  blooms;  but  this  is  not  a  hardy  plant.  Its 
tubers  are  to  be  taken  up  and  dried,  after  the  top 
has  withered,  the  new  growths  divided  from  the 
old,  and  all  kept  in  the  cellar  till  It  is  time  for 
planting  in  early  spring — a  treatment  that  may 
be  given  to  the  canna  and  gladiolus,  also.  You 
could  fill  your  yard  with  dahlias  yet  have  hardly 
any  two  plants  alike,  for  there  are  something 
like  four  hundred  varieties,  widely  diverse  in 
height,  form  and  color.  They  range  through  a 
gamut  of  red  and  yellow,  with  strains  and 
touches  of  intermediate  orange,  and  they  appear, 
likewise,  in  pearly  white,  which  affects  both  of 
the  basal  tints,  so  that  we  have  refined  pink, 
ethereal  yellow,  and  blossoms  dappled  and 
streaked  in  wilful  fashion.  The  dahlia  comes  at 
a  time  when  flowers  are  welcome,  when  chill 
weather  Is  impending,  and  when  most  of  the 
tender  things  have  ended  their  year's  delight. 
Its  fresh,  strong-looking  foliage  is  no  less  charm- 
ing, as  the  tree  leaves  begin  to  fall,  than  are  its 
flowers.  Its  bloom  varies  considerably  in  size, 
from  hard  little  nubbins,  which  seem  to  have 
tightened  their  petals  to  keep  out  the  cold,  to 
i68 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

the  new  Colossus,  with  flowers  a  foot  In  diam- 
eter; still,  In  the  average.  It  Is  a  dignified  plant 
and  requires  to  be  treated  with  the  respect  It  con- 
fers on  itself.  It  is  not  proudly  self-confident; 
there  is  no  swagger  In  Its  attitude;  its  gently 
bending  head  betokens  a  certain  modesty,  as  well 
as  pride;  hence  it  should  be  allowed  to  enjoy  the 
room  and  state  that  are  conferred  on  the  distin- 
guished. It  Is  neither  king  nor  queen  of  flowers, 
but  It  wears  the  coronet  of  the  aristocracy.  And 
while  it  is  not  hardy,  It  has  more  life  and  more 
latitude  than  people  know.  I  can  show  some 
handsome,  healthy  specimens  In  a  New  England 
village  a  thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  and  they 
kept  on  blooming  last  fall,  after  several  sharp 
frosts  had  shorn  and  bedraggled  not  a  few  of 
the  stouter  blooms.  It  has  a  disagreeable  habit 
of  dropping  its  head  on  provocation  that  to  an 
observer  seems  insufScIent.  A  smart  wind,  a 
stout  rain,  a  chill  night,  an  interloping  dog,  will 
shake  down  a  dozen  fine  knobs  when  it  Is  In  Its 
prime.  To  remedy  this  tendency  It  is  well  to 
put  it  into  rows,  with  some  care  for  its  support 
against  the  elements,  either  in  the  form  of  a  wire 
net  fence,  or  individual  stakes  to  which  we  can 
169 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

tie  the  stems.  Where  stakes  are  used  in  a  garden 
they  should  be  painted  green,  that  they  may 
show  as  Httle  as  possible,  and  that  they  may  agree 
with  the  vegetation  when  they  are  seen.  If  the 
dahlia  never  put  forth  a  bud,  its  rich  leafage 
would  make  it  prized  for  a  hedge,  and  against  its 
green  wall  white  flowers,  such  as  the  hly,  agera- 
tum,  centaurea,  dianthus,  stock  and  nicotiana 
show  clearly  and  beautifully.  To  allow  for  their 
spread  of  leaf  the  tubers  of  the  dahlia  should 
be  placed  two  feet  apart,  but  an  effect  of  greater 
solidity  is  obtained  if  they  are  planted  in  a 
double  row,  and  the  front  rank  is  opened  so  as 
to  show  that  in  the  rear,  thus : 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

In  such  a  case  It  would  better  insure  their  safety 
If  a  strip  of  wire  net,  such  as  Is  used  for  fencing 
poultry-yards,  were  extended  behind  each  row, 
and  the  stalks  tied  to  the  wires,  to  hold  them 
stiffly  against  the  shock  of  wind  and  flood. 

There  Is  another  good  old  grower  of  our 
grandmothers'  gardens,  that  we  can  hardly  over- 
look: the  hollyhock.  It  Is  taller  than  the  dahlia, 
coarser,  weedier  In  Its  leaf,  and  as  Its  buds  open 
one  after  another,  they  shed  their  petals  and  go 
to  seed,  leaving  long  spaces  of  knobbed  stalk,  so 
dry  and  bare  In  appearance  that  one  Is  reminded 
of  the  neck  of  a  bantam  after  a  fight  with  a  big- 
ger cock.  Yet  the  round,  sonsle  face  of  this 
hearty,  house-loving,  wholesome  rustic  Is  full  of 
cheer,  yes,  and  beauty,  too.  In  Its  white  and 
pink  aspects  It  Is  refined,  even,  but  the  crimson 
variety  suggests  the  strength  of  sun  and  soil,  and 
it  seems  to  have  good  red  blood  running  through 
Its  veins,  In  place  of  sap.  I  have  found  that  the 
hollyhock  will  seed  Itself,  under  certain  condi- 
tions, but  Its  appearance  Is  best  guaranteed  by 
planting  the  seed  of  It  In  early  spring. 

And  speaking  of  color,  we  ought  to  make 
more  of  the  zinnia  than  we  do.  It  is  a  highly 
171 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

useful  bedding  plant,  inasmuch  as  It  blooms  gen- 
erously and  In  a  surprising  number  of  hues. 
Doubtless  its  lack  of  odor  and  a  certain  harsh- 
ness of  texture  and  stiffness  of  carriage  has  to 
do  with  its  lack  of  popularity,  but  Its  opulence  of 
hue  would  make  amends  for  more  defects,  If  it 
had  them.  The  flowers  remain  long,  holding 
their  color  somewhat  like  the  everlastings,  so 
that  they  have  an  appearance  of  life  after  they 
have  really  faded.  It  is  almost  Inconsistent,  in 
our  notion,  that  an  herb  so  thick  of  leaf  and 
petal  should  show  such  delicacy  and  even  love- 
liness of  tint.  This  flower  avoids  the  blue,  hence 
It  accepts  the  red  and  yellow  rays,  and  the  variety 
of  these  tints  that  It  exhibits  Is  larger,  I  think, 
than  that  of  any  other  flower  which  Is  equally 
confined  in  its  range  of  form.  It  has  not  the 
limpid,  brilliant  white  of  the  rose,  the  lily  or  the 
camellia,  but  a  white  of  opaque  and  grayish  qual- 
ity, yet  It  grades  down  from  this  high  light  to  a 
crimson,  full  and  deep  enough  for  the  robe  of  an 
emperor,  through  a  range  of  pale  yellow,  lemon 
yellow,  gold  yellow,  orange,  salmon,  scarlet,  pink- 
red,  and  hints  at  a  purple  mixture  in  magenta, 
solferino  and  a  refined  tone  of  lilac.  These  colors, 
172 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

varying  though  they  do,  can  more  easily  be  assem- 
bled In  a  single  bed,  because  of  their  softness, 
than  we  can  put  together  a  diversity  of  most  other 
species.  The  full  reds  will  make  the  solferino 
cheap,  hence  It  Is  better  to  sacrifice  the  one  or  the 
other,  removing  It  to  a  distant  patch,  If  you  like. 
I  do  not  understand  the  hostility  to  purples  and 
purple-reds  that  Is  shown,  and  no  doubt  felt,  by 
so  many  people.  It  Is  especially  surprising  that 
women  should  object  to  them,  because  they  al- 
most invariably  gain  In  bloom  from  a  touch  of 
purple  near  the  face.  We  have  aniline  dyes  of 
these  tints  that  are  unpleasant,  but,  then,  most 
of  the  anilines  are  unpleasant,  and  it  is  a  good 
part  of  them  that  they  all  fade  so  quickly.  The 
colors  of  the  cineraria,  which  are  ringed  about 
the  petal  edges  of  that  daisy-like  flower,  and 
which  range  from  the  blue  of  a  June  sky  to  deep 
and  splendid  maroons,  magentas  and  solferinos, 
are  superb — as  pure  and  beautiful  as  sunset 
clouds  and  twilight  skies  In  high  altitudes, 
though  differing  in  quality.  We  find  these  col- 
ors, too,  and  their  modifications,  in  petunias, 
sweet-williams,  centaureas,  pansles  and  pyre- 
thrums,  and  such  tints  are  best  grouped  by  them- 
173 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

selves,  or,  at  any  rate,  associated  with  green  and 
white,  and  kept  away  from  the  shouting  scarlet 
of  the  geranium  and  the  assertive  yellow  of  the 
marigold.  Zinnias  have  occupied  a  group  by 
themselves  In  my  little  garden,  and  have  luxuri- 
ated in  a  light  and  pebbly  soil,  Interspersed,  to 
my  sorrow,  with  relics  of  a  glacial  age,  among 
which  I  shall  not  Include  tomato-cans  and  whale- 
bone. They  like  water,  and  will  eat  a  trifle  of 
fertilizer  and  be  thankful  for  it  in  the  spring. 
Like  other  annuals,  they  are  to  be  sown  during 
the  last  of  April,  or  a  few  days  later,  if  the  sea- 
son Is  backward,  and  it  may  be  well  to  relate  here 
that  the  manner  of  planting  such  seeds  Is  to  stir 
the  ground  with  a  rake,  or  with  a  spade,  if  it  has 
not  been  previously  loosened,  breaking  up  tough 
and  clayey  clods,  and  smoothing  the  surface; 
then,  with  a  stick  or  trowel-tip,  marking  a  tiny 
trench,  half  or  two-thirds  of  an  inch  In  depth. 
Into  this  the  seed  are  sprinkled.  With  the  stick 
or  trowel  flick  the  displaced  earth  back  Into  the 
crevice,  then  crumble  soil  over  the  bed  for  half 
an  inch  or  so,  with  the  hands  if  the  tract  Is  small, 
with  a  sieve  if  otherwise.  A  light  sprinkling 
with  the  hose  may  follow,  using  only  the  finest 
174 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

nozzle,  so  as  to  give  a  spray  and  not  a  shower; 
or,  a  little  ducking  from  the  watering-pot  will 
serve.  The  object  of  this  is  not  only  to  stimu- 
late the  seed,  but  to  settle  the  earth  about  it. 

Nearly  all  florists  advertise  packets  of  mixed 
seed.  Artistic  gardening  is  not  encouraged  by 
their  use.  If  you  buy  a  packet  of  zinnia  seed,  for 
example,  you  do  not  know,  until  the  buds  are 
actually  opening,  what  you  have  put  into  the 
ground.  By  that  time  it  Is  rather  late  to  trans- 
plant, for  even  if  the  individual  herb  that  you 
take  from  the  soil  Is  not  Injured  In  the  process, 
you  may  seriously  disturb  the  roots  of  its  neigh- 
bors. If  you  find  color  inconsistencies  and  if  you 
want  to  avoid  cheap  and  glaring  contrasts,  you 
must  dig  up  the  plants,  however,  that  are  most 
belligerent  In  their  blooming,  and  put  them  else- 
where. When  there  was  no  room  In  the  beds  for 
these  intruders  I  have  stolen  out,  in  dark  seasons, 
and  transplanted  them  In  vacant  lots,  hoping  that 
they  might  prove  a  joy  and  astonishment  for 
some  wayfarer  across  those  wilds,  or  for  the  chil- 
dren playing  after  school.  One  other  Item  anent 
the  planting  of  your  garden,  namely :  begin  weed- 
ing early.  Don't  tear  up  your  choice  things  by 
175 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

mistake,  and  there,  you  see.  Is  another  reason  for 
marking  the  burial-place  of  the  seeds,  bulbs, 
roots  and  tubers.  You  will  shortly  learn  to 
know  the  ragweed,  pigweed,  carpetweed,  thistle 
and  purslain  or  "  pusley  " — if  you  do  not  al- 
ready know  them,  to  your  sorrow — and  will  have 
at  them  without  mercy.  The  Spaniards  have  a 
wise  old  saw  to  the  effect  that  it  is  never  well  to 
work  between  meals,  so  I  pull  my  weeds  before 
breakfast — sometimes.  At  all  events,  the  earth 
Is  so  softened  by  the  night  dews  that  these  alien 
growths  come  out  most  easily  while  the  soil  is 
yet  damp.  If  the  bed  is  long,  you  will  whip  them 
out  with  the  hoe,  but  If  small,  and  especially  if  It 
Is  thickly  set  with  flowering  plants,  you  must 
bend  to  your  work  and  displace  the  Intruders 
with  a  long,  strong  haul.  Oh,  yes :  It's  hard  to 
do,  when  your  hands  are  soft,  your  cheeks  white, 
and  your  withers  wrung,  but  there  Is  a  fine  sense 
of  brag,  which  you  may  speak  or  not,  when  you 
go  In,  sweaty,  grimy,  blistered,  and  you  can  not 
count  that  day  lost  In  which  you  have  tolled  with 
a  hoe,  a  spade,  or  a  lawn-mower,  as  you  may 
count  some  days  In  the  hospital  or  on  the  stock 
exchange. 

176 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

Higher  In  the  color  scale  than  the  zinnias  are 
the  nasturtiums,  and  In  the  make-up  of  a  house 
garden  we  must  not  overlook  these,  Its  eminently 
cheerful  citizens.  They  want  the  sunshine,  and 
they  soak  It  up  and  give  It  back  In  generous  meas- 
ure. Their  color  Is  really  warm;  It  smacks  of 
mustard;  It  lightens  their  very  stems  and  leaves; 
they  are  even  hot  to  taste,  and  they  pickle  the 
seed  pods  In  the  country,  for  a  condiment.  Yet, 
be  It  noticed  that  they  do  not  assail  the  eye  as 
a  scarlet  geranium  will  do,  for  the  eye  can  not 
penetrate  the  petal  of  a  geranium :  It  Is  as  opaque 
as  china,  while  the  nasturtium  Is  as  translucent 
as  colored  glass.  Moreover,  the  green  of  the 
nasturtium  leaf  Is  as  high  keyed  as  are  the  orange 
and  yellow  of  the  flower,  so  that  there  Is  a  har- 
mony of  color  well  up  In  the  treble.  Even  the 
soft  and  satisfying  pinks  and  crimsons  of  this 
plant  have  an  undertone  of  yellow.  Theoret- 
ically you  could  arrange  a  disk  or  circle  with  a 
gradation  from  central  warmth  to  marginal  cool- 
ness, by  putting  nasturtiums  In  the  middle,  sur- 
rounding these  with  salvia,  geranium,  ruddy 
marigolds  and  popples,  these  In  turn  with  phlox, 
red  popples  and  the  like ;  next  a  circle  of  deeper 
177 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

red,  as  In  roces,  grading  into  the  lilacs  and  pur- 
ples of  beardtongue,  rock-cress,  mourning-bride, 
closed   gentian   and  so   to   the    blue   of  pansy, 
fringed  gentian,  columbine,  centaurea  and  ager- 
atum — a    rainbow    that    would    be    no    longer 
a    bow,    but    the    completed    circle.     This    is 
merely  a    fanciful   arrangement,   because   these 
plants  are    not  simultaneously  in    bloom,    nor 
are    they    named    with  any  regard    for  grada- 
tion   in    size,     for    where    a    circular    bed    is 
occupied  by  several  varieties,   the  tallest  must 
be   in   the   center,    the   next   tallest   in   a   band 
or  ring  about  it,  and  so,  in  successive  diminu- 
tions till  the  low-growing  ageratum,   verbena, 
heliotrope,  mignonette,   candytuft,   alyssum,   al- 
ternanthera  or  portulaca  forms  the  outer  edge. 
In  placing  the  tallest  plants  in  the  center  we  not 
only  satisfy  the  desire  for  a  formal  yet  simple 
arrangement,    placing    the    conspicuous    plants 
where  they  shall  overtop  the  others  while  allow- 
ing them  to  be  seen,  but  we  minimize  the  shade 
they  will  cast,  so  as  to  give  to  each  occupant  of 
the  bed  an  equal  chance  for  prosperity  with  the 
stoutest.     The  nasturtium  is  useful  as  a  bedding 
plant,  also  for  borders,  and  as  a  vine;  and  if 
178 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

there  are  old  stumps  about  the  grounds  that  are 
too  stout  for  pulling,  they  can  be  hollowed  for 
eight  or  ten  Inches,  and  seeds  or  young  nas- 
turtiums can  be  placed  there,  in  an  ordinary  soil. 
While  they  seem  to  like  the  drainage  in  a  situa- 
tion like  this,  and  in  porch-  and  window-boxes 
and  hanging  baskets,  too,  they  are  light  feeders 
and  prefer  a  sandy  soil  to  one  that  Is  heavy  and 
richly  manured.  This  makes  them  easy  to  grow, 
and  it  may  be  the  reason  why  they  are  not  grown 
oftener,  for  we  take  most  pride,  if  not  most  com- 
fort, in  what  has  cost  labor  and  anxiety. 

The  geranium  requires  no  introduction. 
Everybody  knows  it,  even  In  the  towns.  It  is 
common  to  both  continents  and  is  cheap,  clean, 
vigorous  and  useful.  It  is  long  active,  and  you 
will  force  it  to  keep  in  blossom  longer  than  it 
intended  if  you  will  pinch  off  the  flower-stalks 
after  they  have  begun  to  wither.  This  manner 
of  producing  bloom  apphes  to  numerous  other 
plants  as  well.  For  the  same  reason  that  people 
buy  yellow  journals  and  see  crimson  dramas, 
they  buy  scarlet  geraniums,  forgetful  that  the 
plant  has  other  hues,  the  pink,  for  example,  and 
the  full,  clear  red  and  white.  Venders  In  the 
179 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

town  streets  offer  geraniums  at  five  to  ten  cents 
a  pot  in  the  spring,  so  that  it  is  hardly  necessary 
to  cultivate  them  through  the  winter  in  window- 
boxes  and  pots,  though  they  are  easily  raised 
from  cuttings  and  will  grow  in  almost  any  kind 
of  soil.  One  really  excellent  use  for  them  is  to 
fill  ornamental  receptacles,  in  parks,  where  asser- 
tive accents  are  desired.  You  may  remember  the 
half  dozen  big  bronze  urns  on  top  of  the 
orangery  terrace,  in  Versailles,  flaunting  their 
blossoms  above  their  lips,  while  the  elaborate 
garden  below  is  also  lustrous  with  red  clusters. 
Again,  you  may  have  wandered  into  some  of 
those  quaint  inn-yards  in  France  and  England, 
where  the  ground  is  wholly  hidden  under  cobbles 
or  flags,  and  noted  the  relief  to  their  desert  stoni- 
ness  which  is  gained  from  a  single  pot  of  gera- 
niums at  the  door,  or  a  ring  of  such  pots  about 
the  well-curb,  or  a  group  of  them  in  the  corner 
where  the  hostler  can  spray  them  when  he  washes 
the  wagons.  Sometimes  they  are  arranged  In 
rows  on  low,  broad  walls,  and  In  rural  Nor- 
mandy they  prettily  edge  the  porches  of  Inns  and 
cottages.  But  the  scarlet  geranium  Is  a  plebe- 
ian, and  it  brags  of  its  loudness  and  vitality  the 
i8o 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

more  when  it  Is  In  refined  and  quiet  company. 
There  Is  but  one  way  to  treat  It,  in  such  a  case : 
pot  it  and  send  It  to  the  flower  mission.  It  will 
be  appreciated. 

Grow  fleur-de-lis,  or  iris.  It  is  one  of  the 
early  and  affecting  things  of  the  year,  with  a 
sad,  watery  loveliness  of  texture,  a  faint  fra- 
grance such  as  we  might  expect  from  tears,  If 
those  liquids  were  not  salt  or  bitter,  and  a  re- 
serve that  Is  near  to  dignity.  Tender  as  It  seems, 
fragile  as  a  form  In  tinted  Ice,  it  is  yet  hardy  In 
our  north  temperate  zone,  and  Increases  little  by 
little  every  year  until,  in  place  of  eight  or  ten 
stalks  you  have  several  square  feet  of  fresh 
blades,  and  spike  on  spike  of  white,  yellow,  pale- 
blue,  lilac  and  rich  purple  flowers.  The  roots 
will  be  so  matted  that  weeds  can  not  intrude, 
but  these  roots  should  be  separated  from  time  to 
time.  In  order  to  gain  room  for  healthy  contin- 
uance and  increase.  The  Iris  will  grow  on  dry 
ground,  in  partial  shade,  or  In  ground  that  is 
almost  marshy  In  summer  and  In  the  sun,  but 
it  prefers  not  to  be  wet  In  winter.  I  w^ish  I  could 
speak  from  experience  as  to  the  growing  of  the 
Japanese  iris,  or  iris  Kaempferi,  but  mine 
i8i 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

bloomed  only  once.  It  has  large,  handsome 
flowers,  when  they  grow,  but  I  found  the  old- 
fashioned  kind  the  more  reliable.  They  tell  me 
that  I  should  not  have  given  a  place  to  it  in  the 
usual  garden-bed,  but  made  a  deep  trench  for  it, 
filled  it  with  old  manure  and  rich  loam,  and 
watered  it,  no  end.  It  is  one  of  the  disadvan- 
tages of  rare  strains  that  they  require  special 
treatment,  such  as  you  do  not  bestow  on  the 
contents  of  the  old  home  garden,  for  most  of 
the  flowers  I  have  named  thus  far  ask  little  that 
is  not  given  to  their  neighbors.  The  iris  leaves 
can  be  cut  off  in  the  late  fall,  and  after  the  frosts 
we  will  partly  dismantle  the  garden,  if  only  for 
appearance'  sake,  tearing  up  the  annuals  and  the 
frozen  plants,  and  housing  such  as  will  live 
through  the  winter  in  a  sheltered  situation,  like 
the  parlor. 

Beside  the  iris  there  is  another  old  friend 
that  would  be  sadly  missed  if  it  were  not  in  view 
from  our  windows:  to  wit,  the  pansy.  This 
charming  little  blossom,  with  its  quaint,  inno- 
cent face  painted  on  the  petals,  and  its  refined, 
elusive  fragrance,  is  a  development  from  the 
violet.  The  latter  is  not  largely  grown  by  us, 
182 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

because  it  shrinks  from  sight  among  its  own 
leaves.  The  violet  thrives  best  In  the  green- 
house, and  those  amazing  violets  of  California, 
hawked  through  the  land  some  years  ago,  guar- 
anteed to  rival  the  giant  pansy  in  size  and  ex- 
ceed it  In  perfume,  paid  smaller  dividends  to 
the  confiding  than  some  of  the  oil-wells  in  the 
same  State  that  were  advertised  with  increasing 
strenuosity  the  farther  the  promoter  escaped 
from  the  base  of  operations.  The  pansy  should 
be  massed,  its  various  colors  by  themselves,  and 
it  ranges  through  white,  pale  blue,  lavender, 
yellow,  orange  and  purple,  its  lowest  note  being 
a  rich  and  velvety  shade  of  the  latter  that  casual 
observers  speak  of  as  black,  albeit  there  is  no 
black  in  flowers.  It  may  be  a  fancy  of  mine, 
but  It  has  seemed  to  me  that  the  deeper  the  color 
In  pansles,  the  deeper  the  odor.  While  it  does 
not  object  to  partial  shade,  an  afternoon  eclipse 
of  the  sun  by  a  tree  or  building.  It  also  stands 
the  light,  and  If  the  flowers  are  picked  often  and 
straggling  stems  cut  back,  It  will  utter  flowers 
the  whole  summer  long.  It  often  sows  Itself, 
and  I  know  a  bed  of  It  that  weathers  tempera- 
tures of  30°  below  zero,  but  It  Is  believed  to  do 
13  183 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

best  If  kept  In  a  cold  frame  from  early  frost  to 
early  spring,  then  set  out  In  a  sandy  place  that 
has  been  well  enriched  rather  than  In  a  heavy 
soil. 

Turning  now  to  a  different  species — for  we 
are  considering  customs  and  availabilities,  rather 
than  botanical  relations — the  peony  presents  It- 
self, a  healthy,  rustic  companion  that  suggests  a 
country  bride,  a  bashful,  good-natured  wench, 
prone  to  blushes  and  embonpoint.  In  form  like 
the  rose,  suggesting  It,  too.  In  Its  short  life.  Its 
prompt  appearance.  Its  thrift.  Its  opulence,  make 
It  a  glad  arrival  In  every  zone  It  decorates. 
Country  gardens  without  "pineys  "  would  be 
like  old  homesteads  without  wells,  shade-trees 
and  lilacs.  There  are  white,  pink  and  red 
peonies,  and  each  shade  Is  finer  than  the  other, 
for  all  of  them  arrive  when  the  world  Is  other- 
wise lean  of  show,  and  the  flowers  are  shy  and 
small.  The  peony  Is  a  foretoken  of  the  treas- 
ures soon  to  be  squandered  over  the  earth.  It 
grows  In  almost  any  soil,  but  deserves  to  have 
Its  choice  considered,  and  It  prefers  a  light,  but 
rich  earth,  fertilized  once  a  year,  and  watered 
through  the  summer.  In  planting  It  Is  well  to 
184 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

throw  some  old  manure  Into  the  pit,  and  from 
that  time  forth  it  will  care  for  itself.  Its  natural 
term  of  life  is  over  twenty  years.  As  the  peony 
ends  its  blooming  early,  it  is  willing  to  share  its 
bed  with  any  plant  of  a  later  season  and  different 
form.  We  are  to  prefer  harmony  in  forms  as 
well  as  in  colors,  yet  we  are  to  avoid  monotony, 
hence  it  is  pleasant  to  find  the  bushy  masses  and 
decorative  leaves  of  the  peony  in  company  and 
contrast  with  the  green  fountains  of  lilaceous 
plants,  or  with  flowers  of  an  upright  or  spiky 
habit,  like  foxglove,  larkspur,  nicotiana,  the  tall 
phlox,  scabiosa  or  salpiglossis. 

The  prejudice  that  certain  good  people  have 
against  the  petunia  arises  partly  from  its  abun- 
dance; for  if  sunsets  happened  every  hour,  there 
are  thousands  who  would  not  look  at  them  any 
more  than  they  do  at  present,  and  partly  from 
the  injury  it  suffers  in  being  thrown  into  contact 
w^ith  vivid  leaves  and  blossoms,  that  make  its 
tender,  purple  tones  weak,  cold,  even  ugly. 
Petunias  deserve  a  place  to  themselves,  and  I 
have  seen  beds  of  them,  forty  or  fifty  feet  in 
their  greater  dimension,  on  a  Long  Island  farm, 
that  were  like  drifts  of  snow  dashed  with  a 
i8s 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

purple  light  of  morning.  While  sensitive  and 
costly  plants  may  produce  nothing  but  leaves, 
and  few  of  them,  the  petunia  is  a  sure  bloomer 
in  all  kinds  of  soils,  and  it  keeps  at  it  all  summer 
long.  Its  flowers  wear  white,  pink-purple,  blue- 
purple,  a  sober  red  and  magenta,  hence  they  are 
no  partners  for  cannas,  salvias,  and  especially 
for  the  geranium,  coreopsis  and  ruddy  marigold. 
Petunias  are  both  double  and  single,  but  it  is  a 
defect  in  the  former  that  their  heads  seem 
heavier  than  they  can  support,  and  they  are  as 
easily  broken  as  dahlias  are  by  rain,  wind 
and  gamboling  pets,  to  say  nothing  of  Mary 
Ann,  whose  destructive  energies  are  greater  than 
all  the  others.  The  single  flowers  are  the  hand- 
somest, in  so  far  as  we  are  concerned  with  form, 
for  the  color  range  is  the  same  in  both.  Either  a 
light,  dry  soil  or  a  rich  and  moist  one  serves  for 
the  raising  of  petunias.  They  will  live  in  almost 
anything  except  a  swamp  or  an  alkali  desert. 
Though  they  can  be  started  in  pots  or  boxes  in- 
doors, or  in  cold  frames,  I  have  never  been  dis- 
appointed in  them  when  I  have  sown  the  seed 
out  of  doors  in  early  spring. 

Something  of  the  prejudice  that  is  roused 
i86 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

against  the  petunia,  because  of  Its  color,  is  stirred 
against  the  poppy,  for  the  same,  and  better  rea- 
son, for  the  poppy,  albeit  a  magnificent  work  of 
nature,  splendid  as  the  light  that  falls  through 
cathedral  windows,  perpetrates  an  unattractive 
and  opiate  smell,  likewise  a  gross  inharmony,  as 
you  are  likely  to  find  if  you  raise  it  from  mixed 
seed,  for  you  will  discover  meek  lavenders,  sad 
purples  and  grave  maroons  side  by  side  with 
roistering  scarlets  and  gory  reds,  as  if  monks  and 
bacchantes  had  been  thrown  into  an  enforced 
society.  The  poppy  is  tender  and  does  not  bear 
transplanting,  therefore,  if  these  chromatic  riots 
annoy  you,  there  Is  nothing  for  it  but  to  look  the 
other  way,  or  else  to  boldly  behead  the  offender 
— a  thing  you  hate  to  do,  for  their  sin  is  in  their 
society,  and  not  in  themselves.  Happily,  in  the 
case  of  discords,  unhappily  at  other  times,  the 
poppy  lasts  but  a  little.  Often  it  shakes  Its  petals 
down  In  twenty- four  hours  after  they  have 
opened,  leaving  the  seed-knob  with  its  lethal  con- 
tent— Its  opium — swaying  on  a  long,  spent  stem. 
The  fleeting  character  of  the  poppy  endears  it  to 
us  the  more,  for  we  can  not  see  the  rain  of  Its 
silken  petals  without  a  pang,  and  it  is  not  color 
187 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

alone  that  draws  us  to  It,  but  Its  variety  and  grace 
of  form.  It  Is  simple  as  we  find  It  In  the  fields, 
a  little  red  cup  with  rounded  edges;  and  we 
hardly  know  for  Its  relative  that  mass  of  white 
or  pink  or  purple  plume,  lifted  walst-high  above 
the  earth,  and  so  full  of  life  and  light  that  we 
can  not  associate  with  It  any  property  of  sleep. 
Nor  do  we  at  once  recognize  as  a  member  of 
the  family  the  escholzia,  a  common  variety  In 
California,  with  delicate,  finely  divided  leaves 
and  low-growing  flowers  of  yellow,  singularly 
creamy,  pure  and  tender.  The  escholzia  will 
grow  from  seed  planted  in  the  fall,  if  It  is  well 
mulched,  but  the  showy  varieties  come  from 
seed  committed  to  the  earth  at  the  end  of  win- 
ter. Such  oddities  as  the  horned  poppy  and  the 
thistle-like  poppy  of  Mexico  do  not  please  us  in 
like  measure  with  the  splendid  heads  of  the  snow- 
drift, the  cardinal  and  the  fairy  blush. 

Sweet  peas  ought  to  be  among  our  earliest 
considerlngs,  both  for  their  own  sake  and  for 
their  help  in  covering  the  fences.  They  must 
have  strong  cord,  or  wire,  or  strips  of  wire  net  to 
cHmb  upon.  The  custom  is  to  buy  mixed  seed 
and  let  them  come  up  anyhow :  white,  pink,  red, 
i88 


A    WINDOW    BOX    AND    AMF'ELOPSIS. 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

purple,  bronze,  blue,  faint  yellow  and  mottled, 
all  in  a  jumble;  but  It  Is  easy  to  sow  each  color 
by  Itself,  and  you  will  admit  the  gain  In  this 
method.  If,  the  next  time  they  are  In  flower,  you 
gather  bouquets  of  them  according  to  color:  a 
blue  to-day,  a  purple  to-morrow,  and  so  on. 
Let  me  add  that  by  keeping  the  flowers  picked 
you  keep  the  vines  well  filled  with  flowers  to  pick. 
There  Is  a  paradox.  If  you  like,  but  It  Is  a  fact. 
The  seed  may  be  sown  In  October  at  a  depth  of 
fully  four  Inches,  and  to  Insure  later  flowering 
and  take  the  place  of  any  vines  that  may  be  frost- 
killed,  there  can  be  a  second  sowing  in  April. 
The  plants  are  apt  to  come  up  thickly  and  will 
stand  thinning.  Some  florists  not  only  tear  out 
a  number  of  their  vines,  to  give  room  for  the 
greater  expansion  of  those  which  remain,  but  In 
the  late  summer  they  cut  all  of  them  to  a  lowness 
of  two  feet,  feed  them  with  manure  water,  and 
start  them  in  life  all  over  again;  but  mine  have 
always  been  such  thrifty  creatures  that  they  have 
bloomed  till  frost,  and  after,  needing  no  other 
attention  than  an  occasional  pruning.  There  Is 
a  pretty  dwarf  variety  that  calls  for  no  wires  or 
strings,  for  It  Is  of  bushy  habit,  and  It  therefore 
189 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

endures  closer  planting  and  less  pinching  back. 
I  confess  to  a  dislike  of  pruning — amputation  of 
the  limbs  of  unresisting  subjects;  the  thwarting 
of  nature's  intent;  yet  the  garden  is  unquestion- 
ably the  better  for  it.  A  florist  will  advise  us  not 
only  to  tear  up  and  cut  down  sweet  peas  and 
poppies  when  they  come  up  thickly,  but  will 
have  us  do  the  like  for  border  plants,  which  we 
sow  for  thickness:  candytuft,  sweet  alyssum, 
mignonette,  portulaca,  clarkia,  larkspur  and 
canary-bird  vine. 

Before  the  sweet  peas  have  ceased  from 
blooming  we  have  the  asters,  with  their  heads  of 
red,  pink,  crimson,  white,  pale-purple  and  dark- 
purple  bloom.  Their  buds  are  due  to  open  by 
the  first  of  September,  yet  I  remember  that  they 
are  forced  into  flower  at  earlier  dates — a  circum- 
stance brought  to  mind  by  the  delighted  remark 
of  a  woman  at  the  Chicago  fair,  whom  I  heard 
calling  to  her  companion,  in  one  of  the  gardens, 
"  O  Samanthy!  Look  at  the  chrysanthemiums 
and  Chaney  oysters!" — the  same  signifying 
chrysanthemums  and  China  asters.  The  asters 
carry  themselves  with  reserve  and  primness, 
greatly  different  from  the  artistic  slovenhness  of 
190 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

the  poppies,  though  less  severe  than  the  erect- 
ness  of  the  zinnias  and  marigolds,  and  they  re- 
joice in  colors  that  are  simply  exquisite.  Some 
of  the  rose-tinted  asters  have  the  glow  of  rubies. 
These  are  held  to  be  tender,  and  are  generally 
'started  in  cold  frames,  yet  they  grow  on  bleak 
northern  farms  after  spring  sowing  in  open 
ground. 

Chrysanthemums  close  the  season.  They 
resemble  the  asters  in  leaf,  habit  and  mode  of 
growth,  but  they  have  a  wonderful  diversity  in 
form  and  a  greater  range  of  color.  Fashion  has 
neglected  this  plant  of  late,  for  fashion  has  its 
whims  not  merely  in  the  matter  of  gowns  and 
the  drama,  but  in  such  affairs  as  mountains  and 
bouquets.  It  has  given  over  the  chrysanthemum 
shows,  that  used  to  be  regarded  as  society  events 
no  less  than  events  of  esthetic  and  scientific  inter- 
est; hence,  because  it  is  less  worth  their  material 
while,  the  florists  exhibit  fewer  of  the  blooms  in 
their  windows.  But  no  matter.  We,  who  ad- 
mire, may  continue  to  cultivate  it.  Just  as  likely 
as  not,  we  have  fallen  out  of  the  habit  of  reading 
the  society  news,  and  have  therefore  failed  to 
observe  the  significant  announcement  that  Mrs. 
191 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

Chuckleson-Jermynsldes  no  longer  drives  In  the 
park  with  a  pug  and  chrysanthemums,  but  with 
a  terrier  and  a  bouquet  of  castor  leaves  and  scar- 
let beans.  And  there  are  nurserymen  in  the  land 
who  go  right  along  raising  chrysanthemums  as 
if  nothing  had  happened  to  make  them  believe 
they  shouldn't.  They  create  new  strains  every 
year,  and  within  the  last  quarter  century  they 
have  sent  specimens  to  the  exhibitions  that  would 
have  been  an  astonishment  to  our  parents — big, 
fuzzy  heads  like  those  of  football  players, 
shapely  globes  of  white,  red,  pink,  magenta,  yel- 
low, orange,  disks  of  crimson  dashed  with  gold, 
open,  sunny  faces,  knobs  of  close-set  petals,  nests 
of  petals  frazzled  like  those  of  the  poppy,  sober, 
formal,  well-proportioned  blossoms — In  fact, 
there  is  no  end  to  the  variety.  The  big  examples, 
that  we  see  In  the  greenhouses  of  the  dealers  and 
showmen,  are  the  results  of  unnatural  stimula- 
tion and  forcing;  they  have  been  treated  to 
strong  manures,  and  enlarged  by  disbudding; 
that  Is,  the  buds  of  the  plant  are  nipped  back  to 
a  single  one  at  the  end  of  each  stalk,  so  that  the 
strength  formerly  Imparted  to  fifty  blossoms  is 
centered  In  half  a  dozen.  Put  your  giant  Into 
192 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

the  ground  as  soon  as  the  petals  have  fallen,  that 
is,  if  it  is  hardy,  and  next  autumn,  lo,  a  miracle! 
For  instead  of  six  or  eight  flowers  something 
less  in  size  than  cabbages,  here  come  thirty  or 
forty  of  them,  but  all  smaller  than  last  year's 
buds;  each  a  copy  in  miniature  of  the  stately 
blooms  of  a  twelvemonth  ago.  This  increase  in 
number  and  shrinkage  in  size  and  value  but  de- 
note the  reversion  of  the  plant  to  its  original 
type,  the  assertion  of  nature,  and  its  reclamation 
of  this,  its  offspring.  In  urging  the  chrysanthe- 
mum to  feats  and  freaks  of  growth  and  color, 
shape  and  size,  we  sap  its  strength,  and  our  in- 
door coddling  makes  it  subject  to  colds  and  other 
diseases.  Old-fashioned  varieties  are  best  to 
live  out,  for  civilization  weakens  the  subject. 
Hothouses  are  snares  for  both  the  vegetable  and 
human  victim:  they  so  easily  lead  both  into 
habits  of  luxury.  Chrysanthemums  can  be 
started  early  in  a  hotbed,  or  later  in  the  place 
where  they  are  to  grow.  Those  left  out  for  the 
winter  are  to  be  cut  down  and  thickly  mulched. 
The  showiest  varieties  are  tender,  and  will  re- 
quire to  be  taken  indoors  and  treated  like  other 
members  of  the  family — a  service  which  they  re- 
193 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

quite  by  not  putting    out  a  single  flower  till 
fall. 

With  the  flowers  named  In  this  list  we  can 
go  a-garden-keeping.  Not  that  the  list  is  com- 
plete. One  would  require  to  take  something  like 
700  pages  out  of  Gray's  Botany  to  make  it  so. 
Brief  mention  must  still  be  made  of  the  sun- 
flower, that  flaunts  its  banner  of  black  and  gold 
above  the  other  color-bearers,  and  holds  its  sta- 
tion in  any  dry  and  sandy  place;  of  the  delightful 
marigold — I  like  even  the  bitter  smell  of  it — 
unfolding  its  gold-yellow,  lemon-yellow,  orange 
and  brown-red  in  almost  rash  luxuriance:  one  of 
the  easiest  and  surest  of  plants,  and  to  be  sown 
at  the  end  of  April  in  ordinary  soil;  the  calen- 
dula, or  pot  marigold,  with  a  more  limited  range 
of  color  but  more  refined  quality — a  tremendous 
lot  of  it  you  may  count  upon.  In  all  varieties;  the 
coreopsis,  with  its  fringed  petals  of  red  and  yel- 
low, and  its  lank  and  Infirm  carriage  when  it  is 
not  artificially  supported;  the  calceolaria,  with 
its  queer  floral  pouches  dappled  with  red  and 
yellow — a  greenhouse  product,  not  to  be  set  Into 
the  yard  till  summer;  the  heady  and  luxuriant 
sedums,  that  like  sand,  rocks  and  coolness;  and 
194 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

phlox,  both  Drummondii  (the  annual),  low- 
growing,  strangely  starred  and  streaked,  and  the 
stout,  tranquil  perennial  of  our  grandmothers' 
gardens,  with  Its  panicles  of  white,  pink  and  red 
In  solid  colors.  We  ought  to  make  a  good  deal 
of  the  begonia.  If  you  have  ever  seen  the  beds 
of  the  tuberous  species  In  the  Harvard  botanical 
garden,  in  Cambridge,  you  have  seen  a  show  as 
fine  In  Its  way  as  the  shows  of  the  chrysanthe- 
mums In  town.  Yet  the  flowers  are  not  aggres- 
sively beautiful,  and  the  plant  Is  to  be  regarded 
rather  for  Its  foliage.  In  the  greenhouse  the 
begonia  will  attain  a  height  of  more  than  six  feet, 
and  It  bears  leaves  of  beautiful  markings. 

It  Is  a  pity  that  the  primrose  does  not  grow 
with  us  as  It  does  In  England.  The  Chinese 
primrose,  that  we  raise  In  pots,  Is  one  of  the  first 
tokens  of  spring  that  florists  offer,  and  It  will 
keep  In  bloom  for  several  weeks,  they  tell  me, 
yet  It  is  not  for  me  to  see  it  In  flower  after  the 
first  ten  days  in  the  window.  It  puts  out  false 
buds  in  bunches  that  never  open,  but  wither 
down.  Still,  its  fuzzy  leaves  are  pleasant  to  see, 
and  those  transplanted  early  from  the  green- 
house will  bloom  generously.  The  red  and  yel- 
195 


LITTL.E     GARDENS 

low  primrose  and  primula  polyanthus,  like  the 
English  cowslip,  are  hardy  with  us.  The  fuch- 
sias, too:  every  one  likes  them,  with  their  deli- 
cate, drooping  bells  of  red  and  white,  but  it  takes 
a  year  to  raise  them  from  seed,  and  they  are  sel- 
dom kept  after  their  first  flowering,  though  the 
fuchsia  variegata  Is  commended  as  a  hardy  kind 
that  will  live  out  of  doors  and  take  care  of  Itself. 
The  cockscomb,  or  celosia,  is  such  a  magnificent 
piece  of  color  that  It  ought  to  be  in  every  garden. 
Both  the  red  and  orange  varieties  are  available 
In  borders,  though  their  hues  are  so  strong  that 
they  are  apt  to  dull  the  tints  of  milder  colored 
flowers  in  the  vicinity.  It  is  a  delicate  plant,  for 
all  the  bristling  of  its  crest,  and  must  be  guarded 
against  frost  and  dryness.  There  is  much  charm 
In  our  common  balsam  despite  the  habit  of  Its 
flowers  In  clinging  close  against  the  stalks,  and 
so  showing  less  of  themselves  than  if  they  jutted 
boldly  into  view,  like  zinnias.  It  is  to  be  sown 
so  soon  as  mild  weather  Is  assured.  Not  only  Is 
the  color  of  the  balsam  pure  and  delightful,  but 
the  texture  of  Its  petals  Is  singularly  pearly,  and 
the  white  Is  as  tender  as  the  white  of  a  summer 
cloud. 

196 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

One  of  the  flowers  that  always  appeals  to  me 
by  its  modesty  and  grace  is  the  bleeding-heart, 
with  its  festoons  of  pink,  and  its  spring-like 
leaves.  If  they  did  not  call  its  sister  by  so  appal- 
ling a  name  as  Dutchman's-breeches,  quite  prob- 
ably we  should  elect  that  for  the  garden  too, 
although  it  pleases  one  most  when  he  linds  it  in 
the  woods  and  among  the  ledges  in  May.  The 
bleeding-heart  is  one  of  the  long-lived  plants, 
and  is  to  be  set  into  good  soil  so  soon  as  the  frost 
is  out  of  the  ground.  Stronger  reds  than  the 
bleeding-heart's  we  shall  find  in  the  canna,  with 
its  spikes  of  bloom  and  its  huge  leaves  of  refresh- 
ing green,  and  this  plant  is  of  especial  use  as  a 
center  for  round  beds,  taking  care  not  to  put  into 
the  circles  about  it  any  flowers  of  a  hue  to  be 
killed  by  its  more  assertive  colors.  The  seed  of 
the  canna  is  so  hard  that  it  is  proper  to  file  a  little 
hole  in  it  and  soak  it  in  tepid  water  for  a  day  be- 
fore planting.  With  canna  in  the  center  or  in  the 
back  row  we  can  employ  the  gladiolus  as  a  neigh- 
bor for  the  inmost  circle  or  the  row  next  to  the 
back,  only  there  are  pinks  and  magentas  in  the 
gladiolus  that  do  not  go  well  with  the  shriller 
reds  of  the  canna.  If  standing  at  a  distance  from 
197 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

tall  plants  with  straight  leaves,  the  gladiolus  Is 
In  good  company  If  It  Is  with  rounder,  shrubbier 
growths.  The  carnation  and  dianthus  are  pop- 
ular in  towns,  but  they  are  usually  greenhouse 
products.  In  the  garden  they  grow  well  enough 
In  hot  summers,  but  are  apt  to  come  up  spindling, 
and  they  make  less  of  a  show,  by  far,  than  many 
plants  of  less  estimation.  Candytuft  and  sweet 
alyssum,  with  their  tiny  white  flowers,  are  chiefly 
of  use  In  borders,  and  are  apt  to  grow  scrawny 
and  long.  The  alyssum  appears  to  be  the  chosen 
habitat  of  a  sllthy  grub  that  may  have  something 
to  do  with  the  patchy  appearance  of  this  plant. 
If  you  turn  up  the  clusters  you  are  pretty  sure  to 
find  him  In  considerable  numbers  on  the  stems  or 
on  the  earth  where  he  has  dropped.  Better,  to 
my  mind,  as  a  border  plant,  or  as  a  filler  for 
vacant  spaces,  is  the  portulaca,  a  lovable  little 
member  of  the  garden  community,  though  re- 
lated to  purslain,  which  is  one  of  the  commonest 
of  garden  pests.  In  the  first  sowing  of  portu- 
laca use  seed  rather  liberally,  and  In  places 
where  the  sun  shines.  After  that  It  will  sow  It- 
self, and  you  may  look  for  It  every  spring.  It 
exhibits  white,  pink,  red,  crimson  and  scarlet, 
198 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

the  latter  discordant  with  the  others,  but  right 
enough  for  neighboring  the  geranium,  the  salvia 
and  some  of  the  cannas.  More  dehcate,  more 
charming  than  the  strong-hued  blossoms,  is  the 
salpiglossis,  with  its  trumpets  of  buff  and  brown- 
pink,  and  the  scabiosa,  or  mourning-bride,  which 
puts  up  heads  suggestive  of  a  chrysanthemum, 
or  of  an  impossible  cross  between  that  and  the 
bachelor's  button.  It  occurs  in  white,  yellow, 
purple  and  a  so-called  black,  which  is  really  a 
deep  purple-crimson.  In  shape  a  kinship  will  be 
found  to  this  flower  in  the  gaillardia,  a  hand- 
some and  neglected  species  which  likes  the  sun 
and  a  sandy  soil.  The  bachelor's  button,  adopted 
by  the  German  Emperor  as  his  personal  flower^ 
and  of  soft  blue,  white,  pink  and  purple,  is  agree* 
able  in  borders  and  masses. 

The  heliotrope  and  mignonette  are  entitled 
to  a  place  in  the  garden  because  of  the  fragrance 
they  give  to  it,  but  they  make  no  such  show  as 
do  the  verbena,  the  stock,  the  sweet-william, 
the  four-o'clock,  the  linum,  the  painted-daisy,  or 
even  the  fuzzy  little  ageratum,  and  in  consider- 
ing these  plants  of  woolly  texture  we  are  not  to 
forget  the  uses  of  love-lies-bleeding,  with  its 
14  199 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

drooping  tassels  of  crimson  and  its  cloth-like 
leaves.  One  fills  odd  corners  with  this  plant  to 
advantage,  as  its  line  of  grace  relieves  the  angu- 
lar setting  of  a  fence  junction  and  the  uprights 
of  a  house  or  arbor.  There  are  good  words  to 
say  for  Canterbury  bells,  foxglove,  blazing-star, 
clarkia,  columbine,  and  especially  for  the  cosmos, 
with  its  fern-like  foliage  and  its  daisy-like  flowers 
of  red  and  pink  and  white.  The  cosmos  stands 
six  feet  high,  and  ought  to  stand  against  a  wall 
or  fence,  for  it  roots  so  lightly  that  it  may  be 
tipped  over  by  a  stiff  wind.  Its  flower  is  delicate 
and  refined  and  looks  well  in  clusters  for  vases 
on  the  table. 

Then,  there  are  the  plants  with  ornate  leaves, 
the  well-known  coleus,  the  dusty-miller,  the 
striped  grass,  the  poinsettia,  with  its  flaming 
bracts,  the  odd  little  houseleek  and  especially 
the  alternanthera,  a  close-growing,  small-leaved 
plant,  that  takes  on  glossy  green  or  the  autumnal 
red  of  oak-leaves.  The  alternanthera  is  almost 
the  equal  of  box  for  borders  and  figures  in  the 
elaborate  designs  used  in  carpet  bedding.  I  have 
not  included  any  mention  of  this  latter  thus  far, 
because,  while  it  is  more  suitable  for  a  small  gar- 
200 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

den  than  for  some  of  the  grounds  In  which  it  is 
essayed,  it  is  so  extremely  formal  and  difficult 
that  for  the  amateur  it  is  best  left  alone.  The 
carpet  bed  reproduces  as  closely  as  possible  the 
texture  of  a  rug,  and  it  is  in  these  close-cropped 
and  solid  masses  of  vegetation  that  we  find  those 
horrors  which  are  supposed  to  be  the  joy  of  Jake 
and  Maggie  in  their  walks  through  the  parks: 
pictures,  in  plants,  of  eagles,  harps,  soldiers, 
ships  and  other  devices  so  exceeding  cute  that 
you  think  of  the  man  who  inv^ented  them  as  sit- 
ting up  with  them  all  night  to  check  the  growth 
of  a  leaf  here,  a  stem  there  and  a  flower  in  the 
other  place,  lest  the  sharp  edging  of  a  stripe  or 
circle  or  curve  be  marred.  To  plan  some  of 
these  foliage  mosaics  requires  a  geometrician,  a 
gardener,  a  botanist  in  one,  and  the  unceasing 
service  of  a  laborer  or  an  enthusiast  is  exacted  to 
keep  them  in  order  after  they  have  been  planned 
and  planted.  Flowers  growing  as  nature  In- 
tended them  to  grow,  in  beds,  to  be  sure,  but  un- 
restrained and  helped,  are  of  necessity  more 
beautiful  than  plants  collected  into  cities  of  their 
kind  without  elbow-room  or  breathing-room,  tor- 
tured for  a  show. 

201 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

If  our  garden  has  a  high  fence  or  wall  to 
keep  off  the  winds  and  reflect  the  sunshine,  there 
are  many  tropical  or  semitropical  plants  that  will 
be  willing  guests  of  ours  through  the  summer — 
the  palms,  the  crotons,  the  velvety  gloxinias,  the 
huge  elephant's-ear,  the  decorative  castor-plant, 
the  dracenas,  the  jasmin,  and  even  those  strange 
things  of  the  air:  the  stag-horn  fern,  the  tilland- 
sia,  and  the  orchids.  We  have  swamp  and  field 
orchids  that  can  be  grown  about  our  houses,  pro- 
vided they  can  have  the  soils  and  conditions  of 
light  and  shade  which  they  elect  in  the  open, 
and  the  orchids  of  the  Indies  and  Amazon  can 
be  kept  through  the  summer  in  a  warm  and  shel- 
tered yard.  Indeed,  these  have  a  stronger  hold 
on  life  than  is  commonly  supposed.  The  lycaste 
Skinneri  and  the  cattleya  triana  cheered  a  winter 
for  me  by  putting  forth  some  beautiful  blooms  in 
a  south  window,  where  they  had  been  hung 
against  pieces  of  cork  with  a  packing  of  moss 
about  the  roots ;  yet  I  have  to  confess  that  v/hile 
they  lived  for  several  years,  they  never  flowered 
again.  The  tropical  varieties  are  not  for  do- 
mestic cultivation,  at  least,  for  more  than  a  single 
season,  except  to  that  happy  person  who  has  a 
202 


CHOICE     OF     FLOWERS 

greenhouse.  Wherein  the  orchid  Is  not  unhke 
the  cactus.  The  phmt  children  of  the  desert 
were  a  fad  of  mine,  for  a  while.  I  spent  more 
than  I  had  a  right  to  do  in  rare  and  odd  speci- 
mens, and  with  one  or  two  exceptions  they  died 
without  flowering.  The  exceptions  died  just 
afterward.  It  was  quite  an  experience  to  see 
them  do  it.  And  when  you  observe  that  in  Ari- 
zona they  live  through  everything,  the  heat  of  a 
rolling-mill,  the  drought  of  the  desert,  the  chill 
of  a  northern  winter,  the  calm  of  a  cellar,  the 
gale  of  an  open  sea,  to  say  nothing  of  the  prey- 
Ings  and  nibblings  of  animals  and  Insects,  it  Is 
hard  to  understand  why  they  should  behave  so 
ungratefully  on  our  shelves  and  In  our  houses, 
but  I  suspect  it  is  that  they  are  treated  too  well, 
and  have  too  much  food  and  too  much  water. 
I  found  that  cacti  did  the  best  In  a  rockery — to 
dignify  a  little  stone  heap  by  that  name — for 
perched  in  niches  on  this  monument,  such  mois- 
ture as  they  received  ran  quickly  off,  leaving 
them  as  dry  as  ever  when  the  sun  came  out,  and 
that  is  what  they  insist  upon.  They  live  a  stren- 
uous life,  and  when  they  have  all  that  you  sup- 
pose they  have  been  asking,  they  sicken  of  a 
203 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

surfeit  and  expire.  Hot  sunshine  and  little  rain 
are  their  chief  requirements,  so  the  difficulty  of 
keeping  them  contented  in  a  cool  and  rainy  land 
is  obvious.  Their  bizarre  forms,  their  hoary 
heads,  bristling  pincushions,  snaky  arms,  tall 
candelabra,  their  melon  shapes  and  their  flat, 
leathery  lobes  are  interesting,  certainly,  and  ex- 
perts persuade  them  to  flower  in  surprising  ways, 
but  in  the  north  country  I  would  rather  have  a 
lily  than  a  hundred  cacti.  Out  on  the  plains  in 
June  it  is  a  different  matter.  The  bursting  forth 
of  rose  and  lemon-yellow  cactus  flowers  in  early 
summer  is  one  of  the  shows  of  the  world.  Here 
are  we  in  a  yard  and  can  not  see  it. 


204 


VII 

THE    WILD    GARDEN 

I  HAVE  found  much  Interest  and  satisfaction 
in  the  growing  of  wild  flowers  and  wild  animals 
in  confined  spaces,  especially  in  stocking  a  yard 
that  till  then  was  bare  of  material.  It  was  hard 
on  some  of  the  captives — much  as  if  I  had 
brought  wolves  and  albatrosses  out  of  the  wild, 
and  restrained  them  to  a  yard  in  town.  Others, 
however,  wxre  thankful,  and  proved  it  by  flour- 
ishing as  they  had  not  flourished  in  the  meadows 
and  by  the  roadside.  In  my  strolls  to  the  coun- 
try I  would  carry  a  botany  box  and  fetch  it  back 
filled  with  small  plants,  roots  and  cuttings,  some 
of  which  died  in  disgust  before  the  week  was  out. 
I  also  brought  toads.  In  the  first  warm  weather 
the  new-born  hoppers  are  out  in  the  waste  places, 
and  I  would  gather  up  half  a  dozen  and  put  them 
into  the  yard,  to  get  ripe.  In  time,  I  thought, 
there  would  be  toads  enough  in  town  to  be  of 
human  service,  but  most  of  them  have  disap- 
205 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

peared,  somewhere,  somehow,  and  a  new  drove 
— herd — swarm — flock — what  is  the  term? — Is 
required  to  keep  the  garden  free  from  Insects. 
With  their  quick  and  slimy  tongues  they  catch 
flies,  beetles,  grubs  and  other  preying  creatures; 
and  then,  too,  they  are  company.  It  Is  amusing 
to  see  them  swell,  as  If  with  indignation,  when 
you  pick  them  up  and  stroke  their  backs,  and 
note  the  blinking  of  their  beady  eyes.  They  have 
a  soft  and  chlrr-r-ring  call  that  may  be  heard  on 
a  still,  warm  evening  as  you  loiter  among  your 
lilies  and  roses,  so  faint  and  tender  that  it  gibes 
with  the  perfume  and  the  coming  of  the  stars. 

There  is  another  garden  friend,  too,  that  It 
is  worth  while  to  cultivate,  at  least,  to  avoid  de- 
stroying: the  ladybird,  or  ladybug.  This  tiny 
beetle  with  red  wing  cases  spotted  with  black, 
the  unthinking  will  crush,  as  they  like  to  crush 
anything  from  caterpillars  to  elephants;  yet  It 
thrives  on  aphides,  the  slow-moving,  slow-witted 
plant-lice  that  colonize  on  stems  and  leaves  and 
suck  the  vegetable  juices,  giving  them  to  the 
ants,  their  milkers,  In  tiny  globules  of  fluid.  And 
If  you  have  a  pool,  and  have  failed  to  stock  It 
with  gold  and  silver  fish  or  "  pumpkin-seeds  " — 
206 


THE     WILD     GARDEN 

a  gross  neglect — the  dragon-flies  will  consume  a 
few  thousands  of  the  mosquitoes  that  are  in  such 
case  bound  to  breed  In  it.  And  you  are  never  to 
kill  a  dragon-fly,  or  "  devil's  darning-needle," 
even  if  you  do  believe  that  it  stings  and  that  it 
will  sew  up  your  ears.  In  the  south  it  would  be 
proper  to  add  to  the  menage  a  lizard  or  two — 
harmless,  pretty  creatures,  these,  and  I  know 
people  who  keep  snakes  about  their  premises, 
because  they  feed  on  mice  and  possibly  eat  an 
insect  now  and  again.  Many  birds  have  visited 
my  reservation  in  town,  mostly  house-sparrows, 
that  keep  up  an  astonishing  chatter  even  on  their 
courtesy  visits;  but  we  have  had  robins,  hum- 
ming-birds, sea-gulls,  night-hawks,  and  starlings 
are  habiting  some  trees  less  than  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  away.  These  starlings,  which  I  hope  are 
going  to  adopt  us,  are  quiet,  shy,  with  soft  and 
flute-like  speech,  and  prefer  the  security  of  high, 
remote  places.  They  are  with  us  from  August 
to  April,  and  make  music  at  all  seasons.  A  col- 
ony has  occupied  the  Brooklyn  water-tower  for 
the  past  few  years;  there  is  a  family  in  the  trees 
behind  the  Alexander  Hamilton  grange,  in  New 
York,  and  in  a  certain  prison  that  I  know — re- 
207 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

marks  are  not  In  order — the  starlings  nest  and 
whistle  In  the  vines  and  under  the  cornices.  Add 
to  the  garden  population,  if  you  can,  butterflies, 
moths  and  bees,  and  be  kind  to  your  little  plow- 
man, the  earthworm,  for  without  his  burrowing 
and  loosening  of  the  soil  It  would  pack  like  clay, 
and  you  would  find  it  hard  to  grow  so  much  as 
weeds.  The  amount  of  earth  lifted  In  a  single 
yard  by  these  unseen  helpers  Is,  quite  likely,  a 
ton  in  a  summer,  and  may  be  much  more. 

In  transplanting  wild  flowers  from  their 
haunts  to  the  home  grounds,  note  the  locality  in 
which  you  find  them,  for  you  must  afford  to  them 
a  congenial  habitat.  Several  kinds  of  ferns,  as 
well  as  the  glossy  pipslssewa  and  wintergreen, 
will  desire  a  woody  shade,  saxifrage  will  seek  for 
niches  in  rocks,  and  butter-and-eggs  requires  the 
sun;  the  pitcher-plant  prefers  the  bog,  the  camo- 
mile a  sandy  roadside;  the  ghost-flower,  or 
corpse-plant,  or  Indian-pipe,  as  it  is  variously 
called,  wants  footing  In  old  leaves,  moss  and 
roots,  while  the  arrowhead  must  have  water.  It 
is  impossible  to  collect  every  sort  of  wild  flower 
into  the  city  garden,  because  It  Is  impossible  in 
such  a  space  to  afford  all  the  conditions  necessary 
208 


THE    WILD     GARDEN 

to  a  wide  variety  of  growth.     If  you  are  deter- 
mined to  have  certain  exotics  from  the  next  town- 
ship, you  can  provide  for  them,  but  in  making 
them  at  home  you  destroy  the  home  of  your 
faithful  and  domestic  flowers.     For  instance,  I 
kept  a  skunk-cabbage,  for  the  fun  of  the  thing, 
and  although  it  refused  my  blandishments  after 
a  little,  it  went  far  to  convince  me  that  I  could 
have  kept  it  going  if  I  had  watered  and  shaded 
it  more  thoughtfully.     I  think  the  neighbors  re- 
garded this  as  unholy,  yet  I  never  scattered  its 
leaves  over  their  premises.     If,  however,  I  had 
raised   skunk-cabbages,    the   moistening   of   the 
soil  would  have  made  the  place  unfit  for  my 
sweet  peas,  honeysuckles,  petunias  and  zinnias. 

Dandelion,  buttercup,  goldenrod,  mustard, 
butter-and-eggs,  dog's-tooth  violet,  hawkweed, 
rattlesnake  weed,  cinquefoil,  evening  primrose, 
mullein,  moth-mullein,  St.  Johnswort,  star-grass, 
meadow-lily,  butterfly-weed  and  oxaUs  I  have 
raised  in  a  city  yard.  The  goldenrods  were  the 
pride  of  the  place,  standing  so  high  as  to  con- 
ceal the  moderately  tall  fence  against  which  I 
planted  them,  and  flaunting  heads  of  bloom  as 
large  as  a  blacksmith's  fist.  The  common  white- 
209 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

weed,  which  we  call  the  daisy,  I  likewise  culti- 
vated with  success,  and  an  unexpected  triumph 
was  in  the  blooming  of  a  pink  lady's-sllpper,  or 
moccasin-flower,  that  I  had  dug  on  the  edge  of 
a  ditch  in  the  suburbs  and  replanted  in  poor  soil, 
but  watered  generously.  Of  two  buttercups,  one 
flowered  numerously,  carrying  hundreds  of  blos- 
soms, while  the  other  had  fewer  flowers  and 
larger,  because  I  had  disbudded  it,  throwing  its 
strength  Into  the  flowers  that  remained.  I  have 
a  notion  that  the  common  wayside  aster  would 
act  In  the  same  way  and  produce  blossoms  nearly 
as  large  as  the  cultivated  variety,  if  the  buds  were 
all  pinched  off,  except  half  a  dozen. 

The  yarrow  is  slowly  getting  its  deserts  by 
acceptance  in  gardens.  It  has  an  exquisite  soft- 
ness and  fineness  of  leaf,  which  yields  a  pleasant 
nutty  odor  when  crushed  in  the  fingers,  and  it 
would  be  greatly  esteemed  were  it  not  that  it 
grows  wild  by  dusty  highways.  One  can  not 
say  so  much  for  its  flowers,  for  they  are  dull, 
grayish  and  inconspicuous,  although  the  pink 
variety  is  as  yet  sufiiclent  of  a  rarity  to  entitle  it 
to  garden  use.  The  tansy,  also,  is  a  fresh  and 
wholesome  looking  plant,  with  bunches  of  yellow 

2IO 


THE     WILD     GARDEN 

flowers  that  make  a  good  appearance  in  the  field, 
and  why  not  in  the  garden?  Suggesting  the 
yarrow  in  its  foHage  and  the  daisy  in  its  flower, 
is  the  camomile,  another  familiar  of  the  country, 
but  less  worth  while  as  a  cultivated  plant,  be- 
cause of  its  low  growth  and  raggedness. 

There  is  practically  no  end  to  the  resources 
of  the  wild  garden.  The  whole  flora  of  a  coun- 
ty, excepting  the  swamp  flowers,  can  be  repre- 
sented in  an  estate  that  is  large  enough  and  that 
has  some  variety  of  surface — rocks,  mold,  sand 
and  shade.  We  can  begin  our  season  in  that 
garden  early,  with  the  violet,  liverwort,  star- 
flower,  blood-root,  rue-anemone,  May-apple,  the 
trilliums,  Solomon's-seal,  spice-bush,  the  rhodora, 
the  wild  pink,  the  showy  orchis,  the  polygala  and 
wild  geranium,  and  carry  color  and  fragrance 
through  the  months  till  the  snows  begin  to 
sprinkle  over  the  last  gentians,  Joe-Pye-weeds, 
everlastings,  goldenrods  and  asters. 

The  place  for  a  wild  garden  is  at  a  remove 
from  the  house,  if  the  space  available  for  formal 
gardening  is  small.  It  is  better  to  separate  the 
cultivated  from  the  wild,  not  that  the  former 
learn  any  bad  habits  from  the  other,  but  that 

211 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

the  savage  plants  are  heedlessly  insistent  in  the 
matter  of  scattering  their  seed,  and  escapes  from 
the  wild  garden  into  the  cultivated  are  much 
more  certain  than  escapes  of  the  civilized  from 
the  places  set  aside  for  lilies  and  roses.  So  soon 
as  a  wild  flower  has  established  itself  where  it  is 
not  wanted,  it  becomes  a  weed,  and  is  liable  to 
the  treatment  accorded  to  interlopers.  But  while 
it  is  with  us  from  choice,  let  us  be  good  to  it, 
plow  the  ground  in  which  it  is  to  stand,  water  it 
in  dry  seasons,  even  weed  it  when  ugly  and  un- 
welcome growths  threaten  to  overrun  it  or  crowd 
the  daintier  residents.  A  surfacing  of  manure 
in  the  spring  and  of  mulch  in  the  fall  will  be  as 
well  appreciated  by  the  wild  flower  as  the  tame 
one,  and  it  will  prove  its  appreciation  by  in- 
creased growth  and  livelier  color.  The  wild 
flowers  can  be  collected  into  beds  and  treated  in 
the  same  manner  as  the  geraniums  and  petunias, 
or  the  seed  can  be  sown  broadcast  over  prepared 
ground.  And  it  is  now  possible  to  obtain  the 
seed  of  wild  flowers  from  mercantile  growers, 
whose  offer  of  it  must  surely  be  based  upon  an 
increased  appreciation  of  natural  beauty. 


212 


VIII 

SHRUBS 

All  large  forms  are  to  be  used  with  caution 
In  small  grounds.  We  must  give  our  yard  to  what 
we  deem  the  best,  and  in  the  country,  where  we 
are  surrounded  by  woods,  we  will  not  try  to  con- 
struct a  forest  at  our  doors.  If  we  can  deceive 
ourselves  into  thinking  that  the  yard  is  a  cosmos, 
well  and  good;  but  the  effect  will  be  rather  des- 
perate if  we  try  to  mal<:e  it  one.  If  a  brook  runs 
through  it,  flowing  between  steep  banks,  bowered 
with  alder,  elder,  willow,  woodbine  and  clematis, 
setting  the  birds  a-slnging  with  its  gurgle,  and 
opening  glades  that  invite  us  from  the  world  to 
listen  for  that  message  of  more  than  mortal  con- 
sequence that  winds  and  waters  always  seem 
about  to  speak,  yet  that  ever  eludes  our  under- 
standing, we  are  privileged,  indeed.  Only,  as 
there  may  be  a  mile  of  delightful  wilderness  be- 
yond our  confines,  and  no  lilies,  dahlias  or  chi-ys- 
anthemiums  In  all  that  distance,  is  it  not  better 
213 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

to  make  our  garden  In  the  spot  we  have  cleared, 
than  to  restore  our  clearing  to  the  wilderness? 

The  use  of  shrubs,  however,  does  not  commit 
us  to  any  such  attempt.  Many  of  them  are  -avail- 
able and  admirable  for  yards  and  other  small 
spaces.  They  are  needed,  like  the  vines,  to 
cover  unsightly  fences,  to  give  variety,  Interest, 
dignity  and  beauty  to  the  prospect.  In  a  large 
garden  they  can  be  massed  Into  thickets,  or  made 
to  serve  as  backgrounds  for  beds,  and  It  Is  an 
effective  use  of  them  to  have  dense  plantations 
of  flowers  In  careless  windings  before  these  thick- 
ets, the  flowers  rising  directly  from  the  lawn 
without  the  usual  path  before  them,  thus : 


SHRUBS 

By  following  a  contour  rudely  Indicated  by 
the  shrubs  themselves,  formality  Is  reduced  to 
a  minimum,  though  we  can  add  the  two  little 
beds  and  the  half-circular  space  at  the  beginning 
and  end  of  the  path  for  the  cultivation  of  smaller, 
more  delicate  plants  than  we  would  entrust  to  a 
summer-long  tussle  with  the  grass,  and  with  the 
shade  cast  by  the  thicker  vegetation.  Beside  the 
ferns  there  are  many  flowers  which  can  be  relied 
upon  to  bloom  in  shade. 

It  Is  claimed  that  shrubs  and  trees  are  now 
safely  transplanted  at  any  time  of  the  year,  but 
the  fall  is  the  best  season  for  the  work,  as  in 
spring  the  sudden  interruption  of  the  sap  flow, 
made  In  lifting  them,  retards  their  growth,  if  it 
does  not  Imperil  their  lives.  A  tree  unsuccess- 
fully replanted  is  never  strong  and  satisfying, 
and  generally  dies  young.  The  shift  should  be 
made  as  quickly  as  possible,  and  the  ball  of  earth 
be  kept  about  the  root  until  the  bush  Is  ready  for 
its  new  place.  The  hole  must  be  large  enough 
to  receive  the  roots  outspread,  and  If  It  is  found 
that  any  of  them  have  been  Injured  In  transit, 
it  Is  advised  that  they  be  cut  off  cleanly,  with 
a  sharp  knife,  above  the  break.    When  set  into 

15  215 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

its  new  lodgment,  earth  is  to  be  sifted  over  the 
roots,  then  garden  mold  shoveled  on  and  well 
tamped  down,  by  boot-heels,  if  other  and  less 
usual  implements  are  not  convenient.  It  is  sel- 
dom that  heavy  manuring  is  required,  because 
the  best  shrubs  for  garden  use  thrive  on  soil  of 
coarser  texture  than  is  needed  by  herbaceous 
plants,  and  root  more  stoutly  for  their  own  liv- 
ings in  a  dry  season.  If  flowers  are  planted  near, 
they  should  still  be  at  such  a  distance  as  to  avoid 
entanglement  with  the  bushes,  for  in  such  case 
they  would  steal  one  another's  substance  and  the 
growth  of  each  would  be  hindered.  Severe  and 
yearly  pruning  is  believed  to  injure  the  flowering 
property  of  shrubs,  and  I  have  never  done  more 
in  that  direction  than  to  cut  out  old  or  gnarly 
branches.  The  new  growths  will  have  to  be 
fought  steadily,  unless  it  is  desired  to  extend  the 
range  of  the  plant.  Black  currant  and  lilac,  es- 
pecially, are  determined  to  possess  the  premises, 
the  former  sending  its  runners  under  ground  to 
arise  at  unexpected  places  six  feet  away.  It  is 
fiercely  and  insistently  reproductive. 

The  lilac  does  not  put  out  these  skirmishers, 
but  advances  in  sohd  line  of  battle,  sending  up 
216 


SHRUBS 

from  the  close  neighborhood  of  the  central  trunk 
a  multitude  of  lesser  stalks,  and  massing  so 
densely  as  almost  to  exclude  the  light  from  the 
earth  beneath  it.  If  these  suckers  are  not 
promptly  trimmed  off,  or  hoed  out  of  the  earth, 
the  difficulty  of  removing  them  is  much  in- 
creased, for  In  a  few  months  the  wood  grows  so 
tough  as  to  resist  the  hoe.  These  shoots  will 
rollick  upward  into  the  body  of  the  bush,  and  so 
it  Interferes  with  itself,  lessening  the  growth  of 
its  flowers  and  starving  such  leaves  as  can  not 
gain  the  light.  If  early  separated  from  the 
bush  and  set  out  In  new  ground,  the  suckers  will 
become  healthy  bushes  of  themselves,  in  a  few 
seasons.  The  lilac  is  one  of  the  elements  In  the 
rural  picture  that  a  country  boy  will  not  dismiss 
from  his  memory.  He  recalls  the  white  and  the 
pink-purple  clusters  that  flourished  in  scores, 
sometimes  in  hundreds,  over  the  bush  that  stood 
at  the  door,  and  that  are  still  blooming  in  lonely 
spots  among  the  hills  where  men's  eyes  rarely 
see  them,  for  the  houses  they  beautified  are  gone 
and  the  farms  deserted.  He  recalls  their  fra- 
grance in  moments  of  reverie  that  happily  come 
to  him  in  the  moil  of  town.  He  remembers 
217 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

the  pitcher  of  new-cut  thyrses  that  adorned  the 
table  when  the  minister  took  tea  with  the  family, 
or  when  lunch  was  set  out  for  the  matrons  and 
spinsters  of  the  sewing-circle.  He  recalls  the 
groups  of  lilacs  in  the  school-yard,  and  those  that 
cast  a  shadow  at  the  gate  of  that  sacred  place  of 
shadows :  the  village  cemetery.  And  so  remem- 
bering, he  plants  a  lilac  before  his  city  home,  or 
has  it  in  his  yard.  We  see  more  of  lilacs  in  town 
than  of  any  other  shrub,  yet  we  see  not  half 
enough  of  them.  Over  a  score  of  varieties  are 
offered  by  the  nurserymen — white,  purple-rose, 
red  with  a  faint  blue  cast,  full  purple  and  purple- 
violet.  This  shrub  will  stand  neglect,  but  that 
is  no  reason  why  it  should  have  it.  What  is 
worth  room  on  one's  premises  is  worth  affection- 
ate care.  Like  other  plants,  the  lilac  asks  a  drink 
in  thirsty  weather,  it  needs  occasional  pruning, 
and  is  none  the  worse  for  an  annual  loosening  of 
the  soil  about  its  roots. 

Useful  in  backgrounds  is  the  weigelia,  or 
diervilla,  a  bush  of  loosely  spreading  habit,  but 
shapely,  and  bearing  trumpets  of  ruddy  purple, 
pink,  red  and  white.  This  shrub  is  said  to  come 
from  Japan,  where  it  grows  from  three  to  six 
218 


A    PLEASING    VISTA. 


SHRUBS 

feet  in  height,  but  I  am  sure  that  one  in  my  yard 
has  attained  a  height  of  eight  feet — at  least, 
that  its  branches  would  measure  that  if  they  were 
straightened.  It  is  a  free  bloomer,  the  flowers 
lasting  from  the  end  of  May  to  mid-July.  It 
loses  a  branch  now  and  again,  not  from  disease, 
but  apparently  from  age,  and  these  dead  limbs 
will  be  amputated,  of  course.  It  also  appreciates 
a  little  fertilizer,  yet  it  grows  easily,  and  in  any 
common  soil. 

I  doubt  if  the  azalea  will  stand  our  winters; 
at  least,  the  cultivated  sort,  bearing  red  and 
white  flowers,  is  sensitive,  and  the  wild  azalea, 
with  its  watery  buff,  yellow  and  salmon  blossoms 
makes  so  much  less  of  a  show,  in  the  north,  that 
it  has  yet  to  win  its  place  as  a  garden  plant;  but 
its  congener,  the  rhododendron,  deserves  admir- 
ing consideration.  This  splendid  shrub,  most 
glorious  of  all  spring  vegetation,  its  thickets 
bombarding  the  hills  with  flashes  of  red,  pink, 
purple  and  white,  is  a  winter  ornament,  because 
its  leaves  are  always  green  and  glossy,  and  it 
pushes  forth  its  buds  in  the  fall,  so  that  all 
through  the  winter  it  seems  as  if  an  hour  of  sun- 
shine would  set  it  flourishing;  but  after  its  season 
219 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

has  passed  and  it  has  begun  its  summer  rest,  It  is 
apt  to  grow  dull  and  ragged;  hence  the  planter 
should  make  the  most  of  it,  and  group  it  by 
colors,  where  possible.  These  clusters  are  not 
to  be  crowded,  to  be  sure,  for  the  plant  requires 
room  to  develop  itself  to  its  full  height,  and  if 
It  finds  a  place  to  its  liking  it  becomes  a  tree. 
Such  clusters  are  large  for  the  town  yard,  and 
are  better  apportioned  to  country  estates,  es- 
pecially for  covering  a  hill  slope  and  concealing 
spots  of  poverty  or  ugliness  at  the  bottom.  The 
laurel,  with  its  waxen  cups,  is  a  contemporary  of 
the  rhododendron,  as  to  bloom,  and  suggests  it 
at  a  distance.  It  Is  sometimes  used  to  fill  out 
masses  of  shrubbery  in  which  the  latter  bush  is 
dominant.  As  foliage  the  andromeda  is  also  to 
be  viewed  with  favor,  and  its  white  spikes  sprin- 
kle it  with  snow  at  about  the  time  the  bigger 
rhododendron  Is  lavishing  its  bloom.  Special- 
ists tell  us  that  all  of  these  shrubs,  azalea,  rhodo- 
dendron, laurel  and  andromeda,  which  are 
American  In  origin  and  come  to  their  best  with 
us,  succeed  in  a  peaty  soil,  or  one  In  which  old 
leaf-mold,  rotted  turf  and  a  modicum  of  stable 
manure  have  been  mixed.  In  England  they  re- 
220 


SHRUBS 

fuse  to  thrive  in  a  limestone  district,  but  I  have 
found  thickets  of  healthy  laurel,  or  kalmia, 
among  the  limestone  hills  of  the  Hudson;  that 
is,  there  are  lime  quarries  within  a  mile,  or  less, 
of  these  plantations. 

Of  other  shrubs  mention  may  be  made  of  the 
barberry,  which  grows  to  a  height  of  five  feet, 
takes  on  autumn  color,  produces  yellow  and  red 
flowers  and  scarlet  berries,  and  Is  useful  where 
a  thin  hedge  Is  required;  also,  the  English  and 
Spanish  brooms;  the  Japanese  quince;  the  dog- 
wood, which,  like  the  magnolia.  Is  to  be  consid- 
ered rather  as  a  tree;  the  snowball;  the  rose  of 
Sharon ;  in  fact,  the  list  might  be  extended  to  a 
hundred,  but  several  of  these  are  less  available 
for  small  gardens  than  the  shrubs  first  men- 
tioned, because  of  susceptibility  to  frost,  sprawl- 
ing growth,  undue  size,  failure  of  bloom,  or 
finical  disposition  respecting  soils  and  treatment. 
Any  seedsman,  nurseryman  or  practical  gardener 
will  advise  the  amateur  when  problems  arise  re- 
specting yard  area,  shade  and  light,  herbaceous 
allies  and  character  of  soil. 

The  box  and  privet  are  especially  to  be  men- 
tioned, however,  because  of  their  usefulness  In 

221 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

hedges  and  borders.  Box  is  of  a  small  leaf, 
tough  stem,  compact  growth,  is  at  home  in  all 
soils  and  can  be  raised  from  cuttings,  which  are 
to  be  removed  at  the  end  of  warm  weather,  say, 
in  September,  and  placed  in  the  shade  for  root- 
ing. Some  new  strains  have  been  announced,  in 
which  the  leaves,  instead  of  showing  the  deep 
green  that  lasts  all  winter,  are  variegated  with 
white  and  yellow\  These  gold  and  silver  shrubs 
are  serviceable  when  tubs  or  pots  of  vegetation 
are  required  to  margin  a  walk  or  lawn,  or  to 
sentinel  an  arbor  or  a  door,  or  to  encircle  a  pool. 
The  potted  box  will  grow  to  a  height  of  four 
or  five  feet,  and  it  looks  quite  as  well  as  the  yew 
or  cedar  that  has  attained  no  greater  altitude. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  the  privet,  which  makes 
a  neat  appearance  as  a  single  plant,  but  serves  its 
best  function  as  a  hedge.  Privet  is  said  to  grow 
scrawny  in  some  parts  of  the  country,  but  in  the 
North  and  East  it  can  be  teased  into  a  hedge  as 
compact  as  that  of  box.  The  proper  treatment 
of  it  is  to  cut  it  ruthlessly  in  the  early  spring  of 
its  second  year — cut  it  to  within  a  foot  of  the 
ground.  This  will  cause  a  number  of  strong  new 
shoots  to  emerge  from  the  central  stalks,  taking 

222 


SHRUBS 

the  place  of  stalks  that  have  been  shorn  away, 
and  the  effect  of  this  thick  growth  near  the  root 
is  to  make  the  shrub  so  dense  that  dogs,  cats  and 
poultry  will  not  pass  through.  I  frequently  walk 
by  a  city  yard  that  is  shut  off  from  the  street  by 
a  row  of  privet  which  has  been  allowed  to  grow 
a  dozen  feet  high.  It  is  thin  below;  hence  it 
gives  no  concealment,  but  it  attains  arboreal  im- 
portance in  its  outspreadings.  And,  apropos, 
the  severity  of  a  hedge,  when  there  is  a  long 
reach  of  it,  can  be  broken  by  a  few  evergreens 
behind  it,  or  a  few  potted  plants  on  the  lawn  or 
walk  before  it,  or  by  both.  Spruces  and  hem- 
locks show  well  against  the  solid  green  of  privet, 
and  they  can  be  grown  in  tubs,  where  they  are 
to  be  manured  and  watered,  like  deciduous 
growths. 

If  one  has  large  grounds  he  should  not  plant 
a  hedge  where  it  will  obstruct  a  pleasing  view, 
or  cut  across  a  generous  vista.  Indeed,  nothing 
should  be  planted  in  an  open  space,  if  it  will  have 
the  effect  of  breaking  that  space  into  inconse- 
quent and  disconnected  areas.  If  we  can  not 
plant  In  masses,  at  least  we  can  plant  In  rows. 
In  the  orchard  we  plant  in  rows  for  convenience' 
223 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

sake,  and  If  our  fruit-trees  flank  the  house,  it  Is 
an  easy  matter  to  open  the  aisles  before  our 
doors  and  windows,  and  so  give  reach  of  the  eye 
into  comforting  distances. 

As  centers  in  plant  groups  or  geometrized 
plans,  or  as  bits  of  form  and  color  in  dull  spots, 
we  may  use,  beside  the  shrubs,  the  conifers,  the 
Japanese  "  blood-leaved  "  maple,  compact  and 
colorful,  the  hazel,  the  weeping  birch,  the  weep- 
ing ash,  and  the  small  varieties  of  weeping  wil- 
low and  weeping  elm,  but  the  usual  city  yard  is 
too  small  for  a  tree  that  has  a  lateral  spread  of 
more  than  ten  feet.  We  must  consider  propor- 
tion, especially  in  the  furnishing  of  a  place  that 
custom  has  made  disproportlonally  small  for  our 
needs. 

And  In  summer  we  can  set  out  our  palms  and 
rubber-plants,  which  have  been  adorning  the  di- 
ning-room or  parlor,  sinking  the  pots  Into  the 
beds,  to  secure  them  against  the  wind,  keeping 
off  the  insects  and  cutting  away  the  dead  leaves. 
They  will  enjoy  our  tropic  summer,  but  must  be 
taken  in  promptly  when  cool  weather  threatens. 
Every  one  knows  the  rubber-plant,  with  its  broad 
leaves  of  polished  green;  and  there  is  no  better 
224 


SHRUBS 

palm  for  domestic  cultivation  than  the  kentia 
balmoreana.  Palms  are  all  more  or  less  addicted 
to  the  pesky  little  scale  insect,  which  must  be 
washed  oft  and  picked  off  at  least  once  in  a  week, 
yet  the  palms  usually  enjoy  as  good  health  as 
the  insects. 


225 


IX 

WATER    IN    THE    GARDEN 

There  Is  no  question  as  to  the  charm  which 
is  added  to  a  garden  by  a  little  water — an  eye 
of  blue  with  brows  of  rush  or  tropic  c:rasses  if 
you  please,  though  it  is  better  for  a  small  pool 
to  be  rimmed  plainly  with  cement  or  stone  and  to 
show  all  of  Itself  It  can.  If  only  a  couple  of 
yards  in  diameter  there  Is  an  Impression  of 
crowding  when  vegetation  Is  placed  in  It;  at 
least,  anything  more  than  a  single  plant,  and  for 
that  plant  I  would  choose  our  common  pond- 
lily,  white  and  fragrant,  an  Ivory  star  with  cen- 
tral rays  of  gold.  If  we  are  able  to  widen  the 
basin,  however,  we  can  add  the  water-poppy  or 
the  water-hyacinth,  which  flowers  in  summer  in 
our  northern  climate,  and  which.  In  southern 
rivers  spreads  In  such  weedy  luxuriance  that  gov- 
ernment has  to  spend  large  sums  yearly  to  clear 
the  channels  for  navigation.  It  has  no  root  In 
226 


WATER     IN     THE     GARDEN 

the  ground,  but  lives  on  the  water,  as  orchids 
do  on  air.  If  our  httle  lake  Is  a  dozen  feet  or 
more  across,  we  can  have  a  tinted  variety  of 
pond-lily,  the  pale  yellow,  or  the  pink,  to  live 
with  the  white.  If  it  is  shallow  and  has  turfy 
banks,  we  may  have  a  growth  of  bamboo,  or 
canebrake,  or  papyrus,  at  one  side.  The  latter, 
which  in  its  form  is  like  a  miniature  palm,  is 
doubtless  the  most  tractable  of  the  grasses  for  a 
small  pool,  as  It  does  not  often  exceed  four  feet 
in  our  latitude.  This  is  the  grass  that  gave  to 
the  world  the  earliest  material  for  the  impres- 
sions of  pen  and  Ink,  and  from  the  word  papyrus 
we  keep  the  name  of  paper,  to  this  day.  There 
is  something  foreign  In  its  aspect  and  it  brings 
into  our  home  ground  a  vision,  howsoever  faint, 
of  the  land  of  the  Pyramids,  the  sunrise  land  of 
mystery. 

Other  possibilities  for  the  boggy  shore  or 
shallow  water  are  the  pickerel-weed,  arrow- 
head, snakehead,  marsh-marigold,  pitcher-plant, 
showy  orchis,  and,  near  by,  where  their  roots 
will  be  well  moistened,  the  daffodil,  iris,  cardinal- 
flower  and  forget-me-not.  There  is  a  tendency 
to  put  too  much  Into  the  water  itself,  and  quite 
227 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

obscure  its  surface,  which  has  a  sky-reflecting 
value  and  beauty  of  its  own.  We  must  crowd 
our  water-garden  no  more  than  we  crowd  our 
garden  of  earth,  or  our  air-garden  in  the  orchid 
house.  And  the  tendency  is  not  only  to  put  in 
plants  which  are  too  large  for  their  setting,  but 
too  many  varieties.  For  pools  of  any  size,  how- 
ever, we  are  always  safe  in  the  use  of  the  pond- 
lily,  and  it  will  reach  up  to  the  surface  from  a 
depth  of  five  or  six  feet,  holding  to  the  bottom 
by  its  long,  ropy  stalk.  The  Zanzibar  Hly  in 
blue,  purple  and  a  particularly  lovely  red  is  an 
introduction  from  the  East  which  is  much  used 
in  large  grounds  and  parks.  The  Egyptian  lotus 
and  yellow  lotus  are  large  for  yards,  and  to 
reach  their  best  estate  they  require  not  only 
room  but  artificial  heat,  except  in  our  southern 
belt. 

If  the  pond  is  natural  it  has  its  own  basin, 
which  can  be  widened  or  lessened  by  digging  or 
filling,  but  if  artificial,  a  bog  must  be  prepared 
for  it,  and  this  can  be  of  sods  and  pebbles,  if  it 
is  a  large  and  informal  sheet  of  water,  or  if  it  is  a 
mere  bowl  it  can  be  cemented  or  bricked  and  pro- 
vided with  an  overflow-pipe,  which  needs  a  wire 
228 


WATER     IN     THE     GARDEN 

net  at  the  orifice  to  keep  the  goldfish  from  going 
through,  and  the  vegetable  refuse  from  choking 
it  at  the  traps  or  bends.     If  cement,  mortar,  as- 
phalt, paint,  stains  or  other  artificial  substances 
are  used  in  the  lining  of  the  basin,  the  water 
should  stand  for  a  week,  with  frequent  changes, 
before  fish  or  plants  are  introduced.    And  while 
a  fountain  adds  to  the  appearance  of  life  and  cer- 
tainly to  the  beauty  of  a  water-garden,  it  will 
imperil  the  vegetation  if  it  is  fed  from  a  very 
cold  spring,  like  many  that  we  find  among  the 
mountains.     Pond  life  is  partial  to  warm,  quiet 
water.     For  this  reason,  too,  it  is  best  to  delay 
planting  under  water  till  summer  has  fairly  set 
in,  and  the  nympheas,  or  pond-lilies,  may  then 
be  placed  in  the  bottom  soil,  or  packed  into  a 
sunken  box  filled  with  old  manure,  old  turf  and 
earth.     The  advantage  of  using  a  box,  which 
should  be  a  yard  square  and  a  foot  deep,  is  that 
it  can  be  removed  when  cold  weather  begins,  for 
so  soon  as  the  green  is  gone  and  the  supply-pipe 
is  plugged  for  the  winter,  the  box  becomes  un- 
sightly.   After  planting,  the  water  is  to  be  gently 
admitted,  the  surface  rising  by  slow  advances, 
about  a  foot  in  a  week,  so  as  to  disturb  the  plants 
229 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

as  little  as  possible,  but  if  this  involves  so  much 
roiling  of  the  water  as  to  distress  the  fish,  or  if, 
in  the  absence  of  fish,  mosquitoes  threaten  to 
breed  in  the  stagnant  pool  before  it  rises  to  the 
level  of  the  overflow-pipe,  it  is  better  to  let  in 
the  water  at  once.  Useless  to  consider  the  vic- 
torias, with  their  immense  leaves,  on  which  an 
adult  may  stand  in  safety,  for  those  giants  re- 
quire either  a  tropical  climate  or  a  greenhouse. 
Many  of  the  floating  plants,  too,  the  water-hya- 
cinth, water-poppy,  water-snowflake  and  parrot's- 
feather,  spread  so  fast  as  to  threaten  the  lives  of 
the  lilies. 

If  one  lived  in  a  town  like  Amsterdam,  or 
Syracuse,  or  Chicago,  he  could  have  a  water- 
garden  that  should  be  more  than  a  stone  basin, 
and  if  he  lived  in  no  town  at  all,  but  near  the 
bank  of  a  river  that  was  clear  and  not  subject  to 
spring  freshets,  he  might  more  easily  have  the 
like.  It  could  be  grown  to  lilies  and  lotus,  or  it 
could  be  kept  clear  for  bathing.  In  the  ruins  of 
St.  Pierre,  the  fated  town  of  Martinique,  I  found 
several  marble-lined  pools,  one  of  them  about 
twenty  feet  long,  and  I  asked  myself  why  in  our 
equally  superheated  coast  towns  we  could  not 
230 


WATER     IN     THE     GARDEN 

have  their  duplicates,  for  summer  use,  at  least; 
for  we  have  to  admit  that  in  winter  a  water 
garden  is  a  dreary  place,  for  usually  it  is  neces- 
sary to  draw  off  the  contents  of  the  pool  in  order 
to  prevent  the  swelling  volume  of  the  ice  from 
cracking  the  cement.  So  here  is  the  shadowing 
forth  of  a  dream,  but  you  are  to  pretend  that  it 
Is  midsummer  when  you  study  it : 


Fig.  27. 


To  use  an  inconsistency,  this  is  a  lazy  man's 
resting-place,  (lazy  men  having  no  occasion  to 
rest,  merely  idle,)  and  you  are  to  Imagine  that 
It  is  surrounded  by  vine-covered  walls;  that  as 
you  sit  on  one  of  the  benches  at  the  near  end, 


16 


231 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

you  see  reflected  in  the  water  mirror  the  marble 
god,  athlete,  or  what  not  who  occupies  the  ped- 
estal among  the  shrubbery  at  the  farther;  that 
the  basin  with  its  goldfish  is  bordered  by  cy- 
presses, yews  or  bays  in  tubs;  that  above  the 
benches  extends  a  trellis  covered  with  vines — 
grapes,  if  you  want  them,  for  everything  is  free 
in  fancy-land;  that  from  the  nearer  bed  rise  the 
color  and  perfume  of  such  plants  as  will  live  in 
partial  shade — godetia,  lily-of-the-valley,  musk 
plant,  pansy,  anemone,  bluebells,  phlox  divari- 
cata,  shooting-star,  St.  Johnswort  and  such  ferns 
as  the  maidenhair,  lady-fern,  oak-fern,  cinnamon- 
fern  and  the  noble  sword-fern,  which  in  many  a 
darkened  valley  in  New  England  grows  head- 
high  ;  for  in  the  country  one  may  take  ferns  from 
the  fields  for  his  lighted  garden,  and  there  are 
ferns  by  the  million  in  the  woods  which  he  can 
abstract  for  his  shady  corners.  You  are  also  to 
see  that  roses,  lilies  and  iris  gleam  among  the 
foliage  along  the  farther  wall;  that  noble  oaks 
and  elms,  or  a  group  of  solemn  pines  overlook 
the  ground  and  checker  it  with  transparent  shad- 
ows; that  birds  nest  in  those  trees  and  make  a 
morning  and  evening  melody;  and  apart  from 
232 


WATER     IN     THE     GARDEN 

the  sough  of  wind  and  the  voices  of  birds  and 
insects  there  are  no  sounds  but  the  harping  of 
water-drops,  as  they  fall  from  the  central  foun- 
tain. Here,  remote,  alone,  forgetful  of  the 
rudeness  of  the  world,  living  with  his  books,  his 
science,  his  art,  his  music,  his  flowers,  will  sit  the 
recluse  and  keep  his  mind  warm  and  serene  with 
loveliness. 

Some  such  a  yard  as  this  could  also  be  con- 
trived for  seashore  cottagers  whose  premises  go 
down  to  the  border  of  the  deep.  If  they  dwelt 
on  Cape  Ann,  or  the  Maine  islands,  it  would 
not  be  difficult  or  costly  to  blast  out  a  hollow  in 
the  native  rock,  fill  it  with  salt  water,  by  means 
of  a  ditch,  or  pipes,  and  in  this  sheltered  lagoon 
to  introduce,  besides  the  usual  finned  swimmers, 
starfish,  jellyfish,  squids,  octopods,  anemones, 
lobsters,  crabs,  shrimps,  sandworms  and  mol- 
lusks,  as  well  as  the  sea-mosses  that  sway  so 
softly  when  the  water  moves.  The  pool  would 
be  a  veritable  place  of  wonders,  and  you  would 
lie  in  a  boat  or  on  a  board  above  it,  studying  its 
strange  forms  by  the  hour.  Have  you  sailed 
across  the  sunken  gardens  in  the  glass-bottomed 
boats  at  Santa  Catalina?  If  so,  you  need  no 
233 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

urging  to  add  an  ocean  pool  to  your  estate. 
Though  your  flower-garden  were  a  tropic  blaze 
of  color,  you  would  much  neglect  it  to  watch  the 
mysteries  of  the  deep. 


234 


X 

DECORATIVE    MATERIAL 

The  decorative  material  available  for  a  yard 
Is  not  large.  At  least,  It  should  not  be  large  In 
bulk,  and  It  is  not  In  variety.  Passing  a  shop  In 
the  metropolis,  the  other  day,  I  found  along  the 
walk  before  it  huge  capitals  of  columns,  well- 
curbs  from  Italy,  stone  benches,  marble  lions  and 
heraldic  monsters,  and  observed  that  they  were 
offered  for  sale  as  fitments  for  gardens.  They 
will  go  to  New  Jersey  and  will  help  some  rich 
man  to  pretend  that  a  fine  crop  of  Roman  tem- 
ples and  Renaissance  palaces  has  just  gone  to 
seed  on  his  premises.  We  may  advocate  formal- 
ity with  a  grace,  for  It  Is  only  humanness;  but 
there  are  situations  In  which  It  is  bombast,  or 
hypocrisy,  to  strew  our  ground  with  what  ob- 
viously belongs  out  of  It.  If  we  will  have  them 
in  small  spaces,  then  fonts,  benches,  termini,  cap- 
itals, well-curbs,  short  columns,  bases  and  their 
like  are  better  than  large  figures.  Inasmuch  as 
^2>S 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

they  dominate  the  ground  less  arrogantly,  and 
the  ground  shows  for  Itself. 

I  suppose  there  Is  no  law  against  the  use  of 
Italian  wells  in  American  parks,  any  more  than 
I  suppose  there  Is  a  lack  of  Americans  who  can 
design  American  wells  for  Italian  parks,  but 
these  objects,  weighing  a  ton  or  two — I  am  not 
speaking  of  the  designers  now,  but  of  their  well- 
curbs — require  large  surroundings  and  back- 
grounds, not  of  shrubbery  alone,  but  of  stately 
trees;  in  short,  the  setting  of  a  large  landscape. 
If  we  have  an  important  tree  In  the  city  yard  we 
shall  always  live  in  the  shadow,  for  there  will 
be  no  room  for  anything  else.  Yet  a  large  oak, 
or  even  a  maple,  w^ould  be  no  more  out  of  place 
on  the  spot  where  we  are  supposed  to  dry  the 
clothes  than  a  big  piece  of  sculpture  would  be. 
A  statue,  unless  It  Is  small  and  simply  pedestaled, 
demands  room.  It  subordinates  to  itself  a  space 
of  three  times  its  greatest  dimension.  It  can  be 
exhibited  in  city  squares  and  parked  spaces  with 
surroundings  of  flowers  and  ornate  leafage;  in- 
deed, it  should  have  this  footing  In  the  natural- 
beautiful,  so  long  as  it  Is  out  of  doors.  In  a 
small  garden  we  can  not  dignify  a  work  of  art 
236 


DECORATIVE      MATERIAL 

by  floriculture  to  the  degree  it  may  deserve,  for 
it  must  serve  as  a  part  in  a  decorative  scheme; 
otherwise  the  surroundings  will  be  such  as  to 
create  a  ridiculous  contrast  between  the  statue 
and  the  setting.  Imagine,  if  you  please,  a 
marble  Apollo  or  a  bronze  Mercury  with  a 
whitewashed  fence  behind,  and  the  clothes  hung 
to  dry  before  it.  Yet,  if  we  removed  the  clothes 
and  substituted  a  wall,  which  comported  in  solid- 
ity with  the  material  of  the  statue,  the  effect 
would  be  beautiful,  provided,  to  be  sure,  that  in 
our  composition  we  had  subdued  all  to  that 
statue:  given  an  important  position  to  it  at  the 
back  or  corner,  massed  flowers  about  it,  arched  it 
with  vines,  made  reflections  of  it  in  a  fountain- 
basin,  maybe,  led  toward  it  with  walks  and  re- 
peated its  upright  attitude  in  vines  and  potted 
trees,  so  that  it  would  not  stand  stark  and  un- 
supported. Here  is  a  scheme  wherein  the  gar- 
den is  so  subordinated,  yet  as  there  are  four 
points,  either  of  which  could  be  made  focal,  the 
figure  might  with  equal  fitness  be  placed  at  A, 
or  B,  or  C,  or  D.  If  placed  either  at  A  or  C, 
something  might  be  added,  for  balance'  sake, 
since  the  plan  is  formal,  at  the  opposite  side — a 
237 


LITTLE     GARDENS 


Fig.  28. 


bench,  a  font,  a  small  rockery:  nothing  of  exactly 
equal  size,  not  anything  in  kind,  because  two 
pieces  of  sculpture  would  be  too  many  for  a 
single  yard,  and  it  would  be  carrying  formal- 
Ism  to  monotony  to  repeat  one  corner  in  its 
opposite. 

In  this  device  are  two  vistas,  and  we  require 
something  at  the  end  of  each.  If  the  statue  be 
placed  at  B,  then  the  semllunes  that  flank  it,  and 
that  end  the  paths,  can  be  filled  with  flowering 
shrubs  of  some  size  and  showlness,  not  forget- 
ting that  the  statue  Itself  will  require  greenery, 
for  white  and  green  make  the  one  brisk  contrast 
that  Is  esthetic.  Its  pedestal  will  be  high  enough 
238 


DECORATIVE      MATERIAL 

merely  to  lift  it  Into  view,  a  couple  of  feet  suf- 
ficing for  a  life-size  figure.  Statuary  Is  raised  on 
lofty  bases  only  when  It  Is  desired  to  make  it 
*'  tell "  at  a  distance.  It  would  be  the  twelve- 
foot  height  of  absurdity  to  put  a  twelve-foot 
pedestal  under  any  figure  with  which  we  sought 
to  ornament  our  yard.  Mounted  In  that  fashion 
its  place  would  be  the  front  of  a  capltol  or  city 
hall.  And  mind,  I  am  rather  insisting  that  while 
there  may  be  a  statuette  there  shall  be  no  statue, 
unless  there  is  a  wall  for  a  background,  and  we 
do  not  build  many  walls  in  this  country.  I  can 
remember  hardly  a  dozen  on  the  Island  of  Man- 
hattan, that  surround  estates  of  consequence, 
though  I  do  recall  some  ancient  defenses  of  the 
sort  In  Its  upper  districts,  now  gone  to  rack  and 
ruin,  through  the  cutting  of  new  streets  and 
subways,  the  building  of  elevated  roads  and  via- 
ducts, the  appropriation  of  adjacent  fields  for 
tenements,  and  the  Incoming  of  that  disturbing 
horde  which  defies  the  blandishments  of  soap. 
With  such  a  canvas  as  any  one  of  these  estates 
offered  in  its  best  day,  what  pictures  might  not 
one  create  upon  It!  May  I  draw  one  here,  of 
what  I  would  have  In  this  garden  of  my  fancy? 
239 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

It  Is  but  rudely  Indicated  In  these  lines,  of  course, 
but  they  will  help  to  explain  my  meaning: 

I  will  suppose  the  space,  then,  to  be  forty 
by  a  hundred  feet.  It  shall  be  commanded  by 
a  house  In  which  the  architectural  lines  will  not 
be  extinguished  by  a  mask  of  brick,  but  will  show 
timber  beams  and  braces,  latticed  windows  and 
vines  reaching  above  Its  first  story.  The  wide, 
low  windows  giving  on  the  yard  shall  often  be 
left  open,  for  the  view,  the  perfume  and  the  cool- 
ness. The  ground  shall  be  quite  surrounded  by 
a  brick  wall  eight  feet  high,  for  this  is  my  cloister 
of  evening  meditation.  There  Is  plenty  of  world 
outside,  and  I  shall  see  It  often,  but  here  I  with- 
draw from  It.  A  brick  wall  Is  cold  and  trite? 
So  It  would  be  if  we  left  it  at  that,  merely;  but 
there  are  to  be  a  stone  coping  and  borders  of 
half  bricks  affording  a  strong  and  gritty  edge 
to  the  construction;  there  Is  to  be  a  paneled  base; 
there  are  to  be  a  dozen  terra-cotta  Insets  with  con- 
ventional ornament,  like  an  acanthus-leaf,  or  any 
such,  while  at  C  there  is  to  be  an  alcove  a  foot 
or  more  deep  and  three  feet  high,  to  contain 
some  rare  exotic,  or  perhaps  no  more  than  an 
urn  of  stone.  Should  I  have  more  land,  the  wall 
240 


DECORATIVE      MATERIAL 

will  be  pierced  at  5  by  a  gate  leading,  I  hope, 
to  fair  acres  and  pleasing  rambles;  possibly  to 
some  quiet  stream  or  wood  of  mystery.     This 
gate  should  be  of  heavy  wood,  and  either  stained 
green,  with  hand-wrought  iron  hinges,  or,  if  the 
wood  were  old  enough  to  have  taken  on  a  ripe 
and  quiet  tone,  it  would  be  left  of  its  natural 
color.     The  wall  should  be  almost  hidden  by 
vines :  sweet  pea  and  morning-glory,  where  the 
sun  shone,  honeysuckle,  clematis,  woodbine,  and 
at  the  back  two  or  three  trees  should  throw  an 
afternoon  shade  over  the  ground.     On  top  of 
the  wall  at  a  farther  corner,  or,  better,  built  into 
the  masonry,  would  be  a  bird-house  where,  if 
possible,  some  starlings  should  be  domesticated 
and  protected.    I  don't  know  whether  these  soft- 
voiced  musicians  eat  bees  or  not,  but  if  bees  dis- 
agree with  them  there  should  be  a  hive  some- 
where among  the  shrubbery,  near  the  back,  that 
their  tuneful  hum  might  be  added  to  the  restful 
whispering  of  the  leafage  and  the  tinkle  of  water, 
which  would  spray  from  a  little  fountain  in  the 
pool  at  the  center  of  the  yard.    The  long  beds  on 
either  side  of  the  walk  should  be  filled  with 
flowers,  perennials  Uke  roses  and  lilies,  beside 
241 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

zinnias,  marigolds,  nasturtiums,  Canterbury 
bells,  foxgloves,  pansles,  dahlias,  asters  and 
chrysanthemums;  and  where  the  flowers  as- 
sembled thickest,  In  the  farther  left  corner,  I 
would  place  my  statue — an  ancient  bronze  with 
a  fine  patina.  In  which  the  hue  soberly  yet  richly 
varied  through  yellow  green  to  purplish  olive, 
but  If  I  could  not  have  my  bronze,  then  a  figure 
in  marble,  solid  and  restful  in  attitude,  a  pagan 
goddess  or  a  Christian  saint:  no  hurlers  of 
spears,  or  wrestlers,  or  boxers,  or  martyrs,  or 
dying  soldiers,  but  a  figure  that  stood  Its  ground 
with  the  firmness  of  a  caryatid.  And  It  should 
not  be  the  prettlness  of  yesterday,  freshly  pol- 
ished in  an  Italian  studio-shop,  but  an  old  piece 
from  Pentellcus,  its  snow  softened  to  cream,  Its 
hard  shinlness  gone,  its  neat  chiseling  of  dra- 
peries blunted  by  contact  with  a  sometime  admir- 
ing, sometime  forgetful  world.  At  the  opposite 
end  of  the  cross-walk  would  be  an  easy  bench, 
not  an  affair  of  roots  glued  over  a  framework  of 
carpentry,  the  product  of  a  town  factory,  but  an 
honestly  fashioned  seat  of  hewn  timber,  circling 
or  half  circling  the  tree  trunk,  if  the  tree  were 
big  enough  to  justify  and  support  It.  One  thing 
242 


DECORATIVE      MATERIAL 

this  bench  would  not  be,  and  that  is,  a  cast-iron 
copy  of  a  so-called  rustic  seat.  A  chair  or  bench 
might  be  made  of  iron,  yet  be  artistic,  therefore, 
honest,  and  it  might  fit  into  a  garden  scheme. 
Maybe  if  this  were  suggested  to  a  Japanese  de- 
signer he  could  produce  one.  But  why  should 
the  iron  pretend  to  be  wood,  any  more  than  wood 
masquerade  as  iron  ?  Let  us  have  homely  frank- 
ness about  us,  rather  than  supposedly  ornate 
sham — for,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  sham  is  seldom 
ornate.  I  do  not  admire  those  beds,  designed 
for  New  York  flats,  that  are  folded  up  by  day, 
when  they  pretend  to  be  innocent  ice-chests, 
pianos  and  sideboards.  Every  observer  knows 
them  for  designing  and  insomnious  frauds^  I  do 
not  admire  chromos  that  affect  to  be  real  oil- 
paintings,  done  by  hand,  nor  Philadelphia  rugs 
that  make  believe  to  have  been  woven  in  Shiraz, 
nor  coffee  that  grew  on  chicory,  nor  wine  com- 
posed of  dye  and  vinegar,  nor  milk  compounded 
of  chalk  and  water,  nor  any  other  thing  that  goes 
through  the  form  of  being  better  than  it  is.  Sand 
in  its  place  is  useful,  even  beautiful,  but  its  place 
Is  not  Inside  of  the  sugar-bowl.  And  so  I  would 
avoid  In  and  about  the  garden  all  those  pretenses 

243 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

In  which  we  observe  a  gross  and  ridiculous  dis- 
parity of  material  and  appearance,  or  of  func- 
tion and  effect.  I  would  not,  for  example,  sus- 
pend a  gypsy  kettle  from  three  sticks  and  plant 
heliotrope  therein,  making  believe  to  boil  this 
herb  over  a  slow  fire  which  causes  the  blossoms 
to  emerge,  in  place  of  smoke.  It  is  quite  permis- 
sible to  string  a  hammock  in  the  angle  of  the 
wall.  Your  naps  and  contortions  will  not  be 
exhibited  to  the  neighbors. 

The  arms  of  the  Maltese  cross,  to  which  you 
will  trace  some  likeness  in  the  plan,  are  lawns, 
and  these  should  be  leveled  by  persistent  rolling 
and  kept  as  green,  fresh  and  unmixed  with  any- 
thing other  than  grass  and  clover  as  sound  seed, 
fresh  water  and  a  diligent  war  on  weeds  can 
make  them.  Every  weed  removed  gives  so  much 
the  more  space  for  grass,  and  in  time  a  carpet  is 
formed  into  which  Interloping  thistles,  dande- 
lions and  ragweed  find  it  Increasingly  hard  to 
penetrate.  For  association's  sake  I  would  edge 
the  gravel  walks  that  intersect  the  ground  with 
box,  and  keep  it  in  borders  not  over  twenty  Inches 
high,  always  neatly  trimmed,  and  green  all 
through  the  year.  At  the  points  of  the  lawns 
244 


DECORATIVE      MATERIAL = 

should  be  placed  tubs  of  oak  with  iron  handles,- 
for  here  is  legitimate  use  of  metal,  and  those 
vessels  should  contain  thick-growing  httle  trees 
or  solid-looking  bushes.  If  all  the  trees  were 
hemlocks,  yews  and  spruces,  so  much  the  better, 
as  they  repeat  and  intensify,  yet  harmonize,  the 
upright  lines  of  the  statue  and  the  house  sides, 
and  increase  their  altitude,  if  there  are  not  too 
many  of  them;  for  an  upright  by  itself  is  taller 
than  in  company,  just  as  Niagara,  because  of  its 
breadth,  loses  the  height  which  would  be  readily 
apparent  if  we  took  any  ten- foot  span  of  the  cata- 
ract, and  closed  it  in  with  rock.  And  these 
tubbed  trees  should  be  darkly,  serenely  green, 
standing  with  an  air  of  some  fixity,  like  the  statue 
and  other  fitments,  and  contrasting  pleasantly 
with  the  large  and  fluent  forms  of  the  maples, 
magnolias,  elms,  lindens  or  gingkos  that  over- 
hung the  wall  at  the  back.  If  these  taller, 
rounder  trees  grew  really  outside  of  the  walls,  it 
would  be  pleasanter  than  If  they  grew  within, 
for  the  space  is  so  small  that  it  would  be  a  hard- 
ship to  sacrifice  It,  even  for  a  tree,  especially 
when  all  the  picturesquencss  of  the  latter  could 
be  effected  without  putting  the  stem  on  the  hither 
245 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

side  of  our  boundaries.  The  space  Indicated  for 
trees  In  the  plan  could  be  filled  by  such  bushes  as 
the  syrlnga,  lilac,  laurel,  welgella  and  the  larger 
or  taller  growing  roses.  The  pool  should  be  of 
clearest  water,  led  from  a  mountain  spring,  and 
containing  a  few  lilies — only  a  few,  because  one 
would  wish  to  look  at  the  fish  swimming  beneath 
the  pads,  for  If  there  were  no  fish  there  would  be 
mosquitoes,  unless  there  were  a  current  so  strong 
that  those  pests  desisted  from  laying  their  eggs 
on  the  surface.  In  which  case  It  would  be  too 
agitated  for  the  successful  raising  of  lilies,  and 
the  fish  might  grow  discontented,  also. 

If  there  were  no  pool  and  no  statue,  a  clump 
of  tall,  feathery  grass,  such  as  we  have  brought 
from  the  South  American  pampas,  or  an  urn 
filled  with  the  Kenllworth  Ivy,  a  fast  and  easy 
grower,  would  serve  as  decorative  points — hubs 
for  the  radii  of  our  composition.  Or,  at  B  we 
could  train  an  arch  of  roses  or  other  vines,  prefer- 
ably an  arch  of  wood  or  bamboo,  yet  permissibly 
of  wire  net,  for  this  wire  tells  what  It  Is  made  of, 
and  does  not  pretend  to  be  porcelain,  sandal- 
wood or  mahogany.  And  If  there  Is  a  vase,  let 
It  be  of  stone  or  pottery,  not  of  cement;  this  not 
246 


DECORATIVE      MATERIAL 

alone  for  appearance'  but  for  endurance'  sake. 
Cement  has  its  uses,  as  in  the  casing  of  the  pool, 
but  the  making  of  gravestones,  urns  and  statu- 
ary from  this  material  is  forbidden  by  the  law 
of  esthetics.  Have  you  ever  looked  upon  a 
statue  of  cement?  If  so,  it  is  too  solemn  a  spec- 
tacle to  forget.  Don't  have  anything  in  the  gar- 
den that  is  molded  by  machinery,  unless  it  may  be 
drain-pipes.  Let  the  work  show  the  touch  of 
the  human  hand,  and  let  it  be  a  duplicate  of 
nothing  that  exists  elsewhere.  Yet,  if  there  were 
a  city  ordinance  that  compelled  me  to  have  a 
statue  in  the  yard,  and  I  found  after  a  search 
through  my  garments  that  I  had  not  the  price  of 
a  Venus  of  Milo  in  marble — a  discovery  sure  to 
fill  me  with  astonishment — I  would  doubtless 
buy  a  figure  of  plaster;  for  the  Italians  make 
faithful  and  artistic  copies  in  this  cheap  medium. 
They  are  good  enough  for  our  museums  and  art 
schools,  and  ought,  by  that  token,  to  be  good 
enough  for  gardens.  Hm !  They  are  not  rained 
on,  in  the  art  schools.  But  if  you  do  set  up  a 
plaster  image,  paint  it  first,  just  to  take  off  its 
raw  whiteness.  Use  a  cream-colored  or  yellow- 
brown  pigment,  or  even  a  pale  green,  and  if  the 
17  247 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

figure  is  chipped,  cover  the  chipped  place  with 
another  touch  of  the  color. 

I  think  I  have  not  mentioned  Japanese  Ian- 
terns  as  garden  possibilities.  They  are  alien 
enough,  to  be  sure,  yet  they  are  quaint  and  deco- 
rative, and  more  modest  than  the  importations 
from  Italian  palaces  and  convents  with  which  so 
many  owners  of  palaces  try  to  foreignize  the 
landscape  of  New  York  and  Massachusetts.  I 
am  not  speaking  of  those  paper  lanterns,  gay  and 
pretty  ornaments,  familiar  to  lawn-parties — 
luminous  flowers  of  the  night — but  of  the  stone 
and  metal  inventions  that  are  used  in  and  about 
the  temples  of  Japan.  They  stand  on  pedestals, 
somewhat  hke  binnacles  on  shipboard,  they  have 
overhanging  roofs  like  pagodas,  and  they  may 
contain  lamps  or  candles.  Their  little  windows, 
softly  shining  through  leaves,  suggest  the  com- 
forting lights  of  home.  These  devisements  are 
works  of  art,  and  while  there  is  a  similarity  in 
their  construction,  each  is  an  individual  conceit; 
that  it  is  which  makes  them  art.  Much  gilded, 
trifling,  insincere  ornament  is  made  for  garden 
use,  but  it  behooves  us  to  be  content  with  simple 
things  and  let  our  walks  through  little  kingdoms 
248 


DECORATIVE      MATERIAL 

teach  constancy  and  simplicity.  My  garden 
should  have  those  things  that  are  sweetly  famil- 
iar, unexcitant,  of  conceded  loveliness. 

The  best  of  the  garden,  however,  is  what  you 
put  into  it,  rather  than  what  comes  out  of  it. 
It  is  the  satisfaction  of  your  tastes,  and  the  bet- 
tering of  them,  the  thought  and  sentiment  you 
express  in  planting  and  gathering,  the  innocence 
and  quiet  of  mind  that  you  take  to  the  seeding, 
trimming  and  watering,  that  are  the  real  re- 
wards. In  time  the  garden  comes  to  mean  a  part 
of  yourself,  just  as  your  pictures  and  your  library 
are  a  part,  and  it  will  be  modest  or  bombastic, 
delicate  or  vulgar,  trivial  or  sincere,  ingenuous 
or  artificial,  according  as  you  possess  those  qual- 
ities. As  it  flourishes  it  may  disclose  a  broad 
mind  and  generous  nature,  or  it  may  prove  in  its 
dryness  and  ill  feeding,  a  habit  of  pelf  and  a 
grudging  of  care.  If  It  is  worth  while  to  have 
a  garden  at  all.  It  is  probably  worth  while  to 
have  one  that  will  humble  the  neighbors;  but 
this  does  not  Imply  mere  show :  It  Implies  content 
with  your  work  and  enjoyment  of  what  you  have. 
I  often  wonder  if  content  is  not  one  of  the  lost 
arts,  at  least,  among  the  residents  of  towns.  I 
249 


LITTLE     GARDENS 

believe  it  has  a  close  relation  to  the  art  of  gar- 
dening. I  ought  to  have  said,  the  craft  of  gar- 
dening, for  if  we  look  on  this  employment  as  an 
art,  our  pleasure  in  it  may  be  the  higher,  yet  L 
fear  it  will  be  the  narrower.  We  can  treat  the 
flower-bed  as  we  would  paint  a  picture  or  shape 
a  statue ;  we  can  make  it  poetic  and  endow  it  with 
fine  and  sensitive  qualities,  and  we  should  do  so ; 
but  it  is  best  as  a  broad  and  intimate  human  ex- 
pression. We  may  not  approve  a  garden,  but 
if  the  motive  in  creating  it  has  been  sincere,  if  it 
Indicates  a  love  of  the  beautiful  and  a  reverence 
for  life,  we  must  respect  it,  for  In  doing  so  we 
respect  its  maker. 

(1) 

THE    END 


2^0 

It        I    I  flsi  C»  A  C9  V 


TWENTIETH  CENTURY  TEXT-BOOKS  OF  BOTANY- 


By  JOHN  M.  COULTER,  A.M,,  Ph.D., 

Head  of  Department  of  Botany,  University  of  Chicago. 

Plant   Relations.        A  First  Book  of  Botany.        i2mo. 
Cloth,  $i.io. 

"  Plant  Relations  "  is  the  first  part  of  the  botanical  section  of  Biology,  and,  as  its 
title  indicates,  treats  what  might  be  termed  the  human  interests  of  plant  life,  the  con- 
ditions under  which  plants  grow,  their  means  of  adaptation  to  environments,  how 
they  protect  themselves  from  enemies  of  various  kinds  in  their  struggle  for  existence, 
their  habits  individually  and  in  family  groups,  and  their  relations  to  other  forms  of 
life — all  of  which  constitute  the  economic  and  sociological  phases  of  plant  study. 

Plant  Structures.      A  Second  Book  of  Botany.       i2mo. 
Cloth,  $1.20. 

This  volume  treats  of  the  structural  and  morphological  features  of  plant  life  and 
plant  growth.  It  is  intended  to  follow  "  Plant  Relations,"  but  may  precede  this 
book,  and  either  may  be  used  independently  for  a  half-year's  work  in  botanical  study. 


Plant  Studies.     An  Elementary  Botany.     i2mo.     Cloth, 

$1.25. 

This  book  is  designed  for  those  .schools  in  which  there  is  not  a  sufficient  allot- 
ment of  time  to  permit  the  development  of  plant  Ecology  and  Morphology  as  outlined 
in  "Plant  Relations"  and  "Plant  Structures,"  and  yet  which  are  desirous  of  im- 
parting instruction  from  both  points  of  view. 

Plants.     A  Text-Book  of  Botany.     i2mo.     Cloth,  $1.80. 

Many  of  the  high  schools  as  well  as  the  smaller  colleges  and  seminaries  that 
devote  one  year  to  botanical  work  prefer  a  single  volume  covering  the  complete  course 
of  study.  For  their  convenience,  therefore,  "  Plant  Relations,"  and  "Plant  Struc- 
tures" have  been  bound  together  in  one  book,  under  the  title  of  "Plants." 


AnatyUcal  Keys  to  Ftoivering  Planis,     J2mo,   Limp  Cloth, 
Northern  States.     By  Professor  Coulter.     25c. 

Pacific  Slope.      By  Prof.  W.  L.   Jepson,   University  of 
California.     45c. 

Rocky  Mountain  Regions.     By  Prof.  Aven  Nelson, 
University  of  Wyoming.     45c. 

These  Keys  may  be  used  with  any  text-book  of  botany,  but  they  have  references 
to  the  text  of  Professor  Coulter's  books. 

A  Laboratory  Manual  of  Botany.     By  Otis  W.  Cald- 
well, Ph.D.,  State  Normal  School,  Charleston,  III.    50c. 

D.     APPLETON     AND     COMPANY, 

NEW  YORK.  BOSTON.  CHICAGO.  LONDON. 


GEORGE  H.  ELLWANGER'S  BOOKS* 

The  Garden's  Story;    or,  Pleasures  and  Trials 
of  an  Amateur  Gardener. 

With  Head  and  Tail  Pieces  by  Rhead.     i6mo.     Cloth, 

$1.50. 

"A  dainty,  learned,  charming,  and  delightful  book." — Neiv  York  Sun. 

"One  of  the  most  charming  books  of  the  season.  .  .  .  This  little  volume,  printed 
in  excellent  taste,  is  redolent  of  garden  fragrance  and  garden  wisdom.  .  .  .  It  is  in 
no  sense  a  text-book,  but  it  combines  a  vast  deal  of  information  with  a  great  deal 
of  out-of-door  observation,  and  exceedingly  pleasant  and  sympathetic  writing  about 
flowers  and  plants." — Christian  Union. 

"This  dainty  nugget  of  horticultural  lore  treats  of  the  pleasures  and  trials  of  an 
amateur  gardener.  From  the  time  when  daffodils  begin  to  peer  and  the  '  secret  of 
the  year 'comes  in  to  mid-October,  Mr.  EUwanger  provides  an  outline  of  hardj 
flower-gardening  that  can  be  carried  on  and  worked  upon  by  amateurs.  .  _.  .  Nor  is 
the  information  of  this  floral  calendar  confined  to  the  literary  or  theoretical  sides. 
'Plant  thickly;  it  is  easier  and  more  profitable  to  raise  flowers  than  weeds,'  is  a 
practical  direction  from  the  garden  syllabus." — Philadelphia  Public  Ledger. 

The  Story  of  My  House. 

With  an  Etched  Frontispiece  by  Sidney  L.  Smith,  and 
numerous  Head  and  Tail  Pieces  by  W.  C.  Greenough. 
i2mo.     Cloth,  $1.50. 

"When  the  really  perfect  book  of  its  class  comes  to  a  critic's  hands,  all  the  words 
he  has  used  to  describe  fairly  satisfactorj'  ones  are  inadequate  for  his  now  purpose, 
and  he  feels  inclined,  as  in  this  case,  to  stand  aside  and  let  the  book  speak  for  itself. 
In  its  own  way,  it  would  be  hardly  possible  for  this  daintily  printed  volume  to  do 
better. " — A  rt  A  ynateur. 

"An  essay  on  the  building  of  a  house,  with  all  its  kaleidoscopic  possibilities  in 
the  way  of  reform,  and  its  tantalizing  successes  before  the  fact,  is  always  interest- 
ing ;  and  the  author  is  not  niggardly  in  the  good  points  he  means  to  secure.  .  .  . 
The  book  aims  only  to  be  agreeable;  its  literary  flavor  is  pervasive,  its  sentiment 
kept  well  in  hand." — New  York  Evening  Post. 

In  Gold  and  Silver. 

With  Illustrations  by  W.  Hamilton  Gibson,  A.  B.  Wen- 
zell,  and  W.  C.  Greenough.  i2mo.  Cloth,  $2.00.  Edi- 
tion de  Ltixe^  on  Japanese  vellum,  $5.00. 

"  One  of  the  handsomest  gift-books  of  the  yeSiT.''— Philadelphia  Inquirer. 

"After  spending  a  half-hour  with  'In  Gold  and  Silver,'  one  recalls  the  old  say- 
ing, 'Precious  things  come  in  small  parcels.'  ''—Christian  Intelligencer. 

"The  whole  book  is  eminently  interesting,  and  emphatically  deserving  of  the 
very  handsome  and  artistic  setting  it  has  received." — New  York  Tribune. 

D.     APPLETON     AND     COMPANY,     NEW     YORK. 


BOTANY. 


Morphology  of  Gymnosperms. 

By  John  Merle  Coulter,  Ph.D.,  Head  of 
Department  of  Botany,The  University  of  Chicago, 
and  Charles  James  Chamberlain,  Instructor  in 
Botany,  The  University  of  Chicago.  Illustrated. 
8vo.     Cloth,  i88  pages.     $i.75- 

The  Gymnosperms,  as  the  most  primitive  seed 
plant,  are  of  special  morphological  importance,  and 
are  very  inadequately  presented  in  current  general 
texts.     This  book  brings  together  and  organizes  the 
widely  scattered  results  of  investigation.     It  is  not 
a  compilation,  but  a  combination  of  pubhshed  results, 
supplemented  and  guided  by  several  years  of  original 
investigation.     The  authors  have  sought   to   disen- 
tangle   and   simplify  a  confused   terminology  which 
has*  heretofore    obscured    a    very    consistent    mor- 
phology.     The   essential   morphology  of   the   great 
groups^s   considered  in  detail,  the  fossil  forms  are 
represented    in    the    light   of   recent   important  dis- 
coveries, the  comparative  morphology  of  the  group 
as  a  whole  is  discussed,  and  the  part  closes  with 
chapters  on  phylogeny  and  geographic  distribution. 
The  illustrations  are  numerous  and  the   majority  of 
them  are  original.     The  book  is  addressed  to  special 
students  of  morphology,  of  the  evolution  of  the  plant 
kingdom,  and  of  the  paleobotany. 

D.     APPLETON      AND      COMPANY, 

NEW  YORK.  BOSTON.  CHICAGO.  LONDON. 


BOTANY, 


Morphology  of  Angiosperms. 

By  John  Merle  Coulter,  Ph.D.,  Head  of 
Department  of  Botany,  The  University  of  Chicago, 
and  Charles  James  Chamberlain,  Instructor  in 
Botany,  The  University  of  Chicago.  Illustrated. 
8vo.     Cloth.     348  pages.     $2.50. 

This  volume  has  grown  out  of  a  course  of  lectures 
accompanied  by  laboratory  work,  given  for  several 
successive  years  to  classes  of  graduate  students  pre- 
paring for  research.  It  seeks  to  organize  the  scattered 
amount  of  material  so  that  it  may  be  available  in 
compact  and  related  form.  While  careful  attention 
has  been  given  to  citations,  so  that  the  student  may 
know  the  groups  that  have  been  investigated  and  be 
put  in  touch  w^ith  the  original  papers,  the  work  is  in 
no  sense  a  compilation.  The  ground  has  been  trav- 
ersed repeatedly,  for  several  years,  by  various 
members  of  the  botanical  staff  and  by  numerous 
students,  and  their  results  have  served  to  check  cur- 
rent statements,  as  well  as  to  contribute  no  small 
amount  of  new  material. 

No  attempt  has  been  made  to  present  the  details 
of  floral  structure,  so  fully  described  by  the  earlier 
morphologists  and  taxonomists,  since  they  are  easily 
accessible  in  numerous  texts.  It  has  rather  been  the 
intention  to  present  the  general  ideas  involved  in  the 
alliances  of  first  rank,  so  that  principles  rather  than 
details  may  be  prominent. 

D.   APPLETON    AND    COMPANY, 

new  YORK.  BOSTON.  CHICAGO.  LONDON. 


By  WILLIAM  C.  EDGAR, 

The  Story  of  a  Grain  of  Wheat. 

By  William  C.  Edgar,  Editor  of  "  The  North- 
western Miller."  Illustrated.  Cloth,  $i.oo  net ;  post- 
age, lO  cents  additional. 

The  story  of  wheat  is  a  marvelous  one,  and  is  here 
told  with  all  the  interest  of  a  narrative.  A  short  chapter 
dealing  with  the  character  of  the  berry  itself,  and  its  ene- 
mies, diseases,  and  pests,  precedes  its  earlier  history  from 
its  probable  birthplace  in  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates  to 
its  cultivation  in  modern  times.  Then  follows  a  review 
of  Britain's  supplies  and  requirements,  with  a  brief  review 
of  the  fields  of  France,  Germany,  and  other  European 
countries.  India  is  considered  as  a  wheat  producer,  and 
Russia's  ability  to  compete  in  the  world's  markets  is  dis- 
cussed. 

This  book  will  merit  the  attention  of  the  general 
reader  who  may  not  be  practically  interested  in  wheat 
and  its  products,  because  of  its  direct  and  lucid  narrative, 
telling  the  story  wdiich  appeals  to  all  human  kind — the 
story  of  man's  long-continued  struggle  for  plenty  and  his 
final  triumph  over  savagery  and  w^ant.  Its  special  and 
exceptional  value,  however,  beyond  its  intrinsic  worth, 
will  be  to  those  who  are  concerned  directly  or  remotely 
in  the  making  of  flour,  its  handling  and  sale,  or  its  man- 
ufacture into  bread.  By  these  it  will  be  welcomed  as  a 
book  of  record  and  reference,  an  exponent  of  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  their  particular  industry  and  an  im- 
partial history  of  its  achievements,  written  by  one  who  is 
in  full  sympathy  with  its  broader  and  higher  aspirations. 

D.    APPLETON     AND     COMPANY,     NEW    YORK. 


WHERE   TREES   GROW,  THERE   HUMAN 
SYMPATHY  LINGERS. 

Practical  Forestry. 

A  Book  for  the  Student  and  for  all  who  are  practically- 
interested,  and  for  the  General  Reader.  By  Prof.  John 
GiFFORD,  New  York  State  College  of  Forestry,  Cornell 
University.  Illustrated.  i2mo.  Cloth,  $1.20  net  ;  post- 
age, 12  cents  additional. 

The  recent  establishment  of  the  Bureau  of  Forestry  at  Wash- 
ington, the  steps  taken  in  different  States  for  forest  protection, 
and  the  movement  for  national  forest  reservations  which  began  a 
few  years  smce,  are  tangible  evidences  of  the  increasing  interest 
in  a  subject  of  immediate  and  general  importance.  The  need  of 
popular  information  regarding  this  subject,  presented  in  a  form 
comprehensive  and  practical  but  interesting,  has  prompted  Pro- 
fessor Gifford  to  prepare  this  book.  It  is  based  upon  actual 
experience  as  well  as  scientific  knowledge,  and  also  upon  an 
acqaintance  with  the  needs  of  the  many  different  classes  of  those 
interested  in  the  forests  for  economic  or  partially  sentimental 
reasons. 

The  author  explains  simply  and  clearly  the  points  of  practical 
interest  relating  to  soil,  growth  of  trees,  their  care,  their  relation 
to  the  water  supply,  the  evils  of  wholesale  cutting,  and  the  prac- 
tical value  of  judicious  selection.  He  places  before  the  reader, 
in  his  sketch  of  forest  distribution,  a  most  interesting  picture  of 
Am.erican  woodlands,  which  emphasizes  the  importance  of  a 
source  not  only  of  wealth,  but  of  safety,  much  neglected  in  past 
years. 

Aside  from  the  value  of  this  book  to  special  students  and  to 
those  interested  in  the  forests  for  economic  reasons,  the  work  is 
full  of  suggestions  to  owners  of  country  homes  and  to  all  who 
care  for  nature. 

D  .     A  P  P  L  ]£  T  O  N     AND     COMPANY,     N  !•:  \V     YORK. 


OLDEST   OF   THE  ARTS,  NEWEST   OF   THE 
SCIENCES* 


Practical  Agriculture. 

By  Charles  C  James,  M.  A.,  Deputy  Minister  of 
Agriculture  for  Ontario,  formerly  Professor  of  Chemistry 
at  the  Ontario  Agricultural  College.  American  Edition, 
edited  by  John  Craig,  Professor  of  Horticulture  in  the 
Iowa  Agricultural  College.  With  numerous  Illustrations. 
i2mo.     Cloth,  So  cents. 

This  excellent  book  shows  how  easy,  interesting,  and  prac- 
tical the  teaching  of  agriculture  in  common  schools  really  is.  It 
imparts  a  knowledge  of  the  science  of  Agriculture  as  distinct 
from  the  art — that  is,  a  knowledge  of  the  why  rather  than  of  the 
how.  This  science  consists  of  a  mingling  of  chemistry,  geology, 
botany,  entomology,  physiology,  bacteriology,  etc.  The  founda- 
tion principles  of  these  subjects  have  been  included  and  their 
applications  clearly  and  suggestively  shown. 

Professor  James  gives  his  subject  the  broadest  interpretation. 
Agriculture  is  for  him  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  for  food  products 
and  any  other  useful  growths  of  the  field  or  garden.  It  includes 
tillage,  husbandry,  farming  in  general,  and  any  industry  practised 
by  a  cultivator  of  the  soil,  as  breeding,  rearing,  dairying,  etc. 

Governor  JAMES  A.  MOUNT,  Indianapolis,  Ind. : 

"  I  would  that  such  works  were  in  every  farm  home.  They  would  give 
the  farmer  a  broader  view  of  his  vocation.  He  would  view  it  as  an  art,  a 
science,  a  profession,  and  not  as  mere  drudgery,  requiring  manual  labor 
instead  of  mental  activity." 

A.  W.  RANKIN,   Inspector    State  Graded  Schools,  Minneapolis: 

"  I  think  James's  '  Practical  Agriculture'  is  the  best  book  I  have  seen  on 
this  subject.  1  heartilv  approve  of  its  purpose,  and  shall  urge  its  use  wher- 
ever an  opportunity  offers." 

D.     APPLETON     AND     COxMPANY,     NEW    YORK- 


By  R  SCHUYLER  MATHEWS. 


Familiar  Flowers  of  Field  and  Garden. 

New  edition.     With   12  orthochromatic  photographs  of  characteristic 

flowers  by  L.  W.   Brownell,   and  over  200  drawings  by  the  Author. 

i2mo.     Cloth,  $1.40  net ;  postage,  18  cents  additional. 

The  new  photography's  revelations  of  nature  have  found  perfect  expression  in 
Mr.  Brownell's  remarkable  pictures.  The  beautiful  series  included  in  this  new  edition 
will  be  appreciated  by  every  one,  and  prized  by  students  and  nature-lovers. 

Familiar  Trees  and  their  Leaves. 

New  edition.    With  pictures  of  representative  trees  in  colors,  and  over 

200  drawings  from  nature  by  the   Author.     With  the  botanical  name 

and  habitat  of  each  tree  and  a  record  of  the  precise  character  and  color 

of  its  leafage.     8vo.     Cloth,  $1.75  net;  postage,  18  cents  additional. 

Mr.  Mathews  has  executed  careful  and  truthful  paintings  of  characteristic  trees, 
which  have  been  admirably  reproduced  in  colors.  The  great  popularity  of  his  finely 
illustrated  and  useful  book  is  familiar  to  nature-lovers.  The  new  edition  in  colors 
forms  a  beautiful  and  indispensable  guide  to  a  knowledge  of  foliage  and  of  trees. 

Familiar  Life  in  Field  and  Forest. 

With  many  Illustrations.      i2mo.     Cloth,  $1.75. 

"  A  very  attractive  bonk,  which  contains  a  mass  of  useful  Information  and  curious 
anecdote." — San  J^rancisco  Chronicle. 

"The  book  is  one  that  is  apt  to  please  the  young  naturalist,  as  it  is  not  over- 
crowded with  scientific  words  of  such  dimensions  as  are  usually  a  bugbear  to  the 
young  student.  The  information  is  given  in  a  pleasant  way  that  is  attractive  as  well 
as  instructive." — Minneapolis  Tribune. 

Familiar  Features  of  the  Roadside. 

W^ith  130  Illustrations  by  the  Author.      i2rao.     Cloth,  $1.75. 

"Which  one  of  us,  whether  afoot,  awheel,  on  horseback,  or  in  comfortable  carriage, 
has  not  whiled  away  the  time  by  glancing  about?  How  many  of  us,  however,  have 
taken  in  the  details  of  what  charms  us?  We  see  the  flowering  fields  and  budding 
woods,  listen  to  the  notes  of  birds  and  frogs,  the  hum  of  some  big  bumblebee,  but  how 
much  do  we  know  of  what  we  sense?  These  questions,  these  doubts  have  occurred  to 
all  of  us,  and  it  is  to  answer  them  that  Mr.  Mathews  sets  forth.  It  is  to  his  credit  that 
he  succeeds  so  well.  He  puts  before  us  in  chronological  order  the  flowers,  birds,  and 
beasts  we  meet  on  our  highway  and  byway  travels,  tells  us  how  to  recognize  them, 
what  they  are  really  like,  and  gives  us  at  once  charming  drawings  in  words  and  lines, 
for  Mr.  Mathews  is  his  own  illustrator." — Boston  Journal. 


APPLETON   AND   COMPANY,  NEW  YORK. 


BOTANY. 


The  Plant  World  :    Its  Romances  and  Realities. 

A  Reading-Book  of  Botany.  Compiled  and  Edited 
by  Frank  Vincent,  M.A.,  author  of  "Actual  Africa," 
"Around  and  About  South  America,"  etc.  (Appletons* 
Home-Reading  Books.)    Illustrated.     i2mo.  Cloth,  60  cents. 

The  Origin  of  Floral  Structures  through  Insects 
and  Other  Agencies. 

By  the  Rev.  George  Henslow,  Professor  of  Botany, 
Queen's  College,  London.  (International  Scientific  Series.) 
With  numerous  illustrations.      i2mo.     Cloth,  $1.75. 

"  The  object  of  this  work  is  to  endeavor  to  refer  every  part  of  the 
structure  of  flowers  to  some  one  or  more  definite  causes  arising  from  the 
environment  taken  in  its  widest  sense.  To  some  extent  the  attempt 
must  be  regarded  as  speculative  ;  and,  therefore,  any  deductive  or 
d  priori  reasonings  met  with  must  be  considered  by  the  reader  as  being 
suggestive  only." — The  Author. 

The  Oak:      A  Popular    Introduction  to  Forest- 
Botany. 

By  H.  Marshall  Ward,  M.A.,  F.R.S.,  F.L.S.  With 
53  illustrations.     i2mo.     Cloth,  $1.00. 

As  so  often  happens  in  the  study  of  science,  we  have  in  the  oak  a 
subject  for  investigation  which  presents  features  of  intense  interest  at 
every  turn.  It  will  be  found  that  the  story  of  the  oak  as  an  object  of 
biological  study  is  at  least  not  less  fascinating  than  its  folk-lore. 


D .     A  P  P  L  E  T  O  N     AND     C  O  I\I  P  A  N  Y ,     NEW     YORK. 


BOTANY^ 


A  Contribution  to  Our  Knowledge  of  Seedlings. 

By  Sir  John  Lubbock,  Bart.  684  illustrations.  2  vols. 
8vo.     Cloth,  $10.00. 

The  germination  of  plants  is  certainly  not  the  least  interesting 
portion  of  their  life  history,  but  it  has  not  as  yet  attracted  the  attention 
it  deserves.  It  seems  surperfluous  to  say  that  the  subject  has  received  a 
thorough  and  careful  treatment  by  Mr.  Lubbock,  who  has  contributed  a 
most  valuable  work  to  the  world  of  science. 


The  Origin  of  Cultivated  Plants. 

By  Alphonse  de  Candolle.     i2mo.     Cloth,  $2.00. 

The  knowledge  of  the  origin  of  cultivated  plants  is  interesting  to 
agriculturists,  to  botanists,  and  even  to  historians  and  philosophers  con- 
cerned with  the  dawnings  of  civilization.  This  book  treats  of  the  origin 
of  almost  double  the  number  of  species  belonging  to  the  tropics  and  the 
temperate  zones  that  were  treated  of  in  the  author's  first  work  on 
geographical  botany.  It  includes  almost  all  plants  that  are  cultivated, 
either  on  a  large  scale  for  economic  purposes  or  in  orchards  and  kitchen 
gardens. 

"  Though  a  fact  familiar  to  botanists,  it  is  not  generally  known  how 
great  is  the  uncertainty  as  to  the  origin  of  many  of  the  most  important 
cultivated  plants In  endeavoring  to  unravel  the  matter  a  knowl- 
edge of  botany,  of  geography,  of  geology,  of  history,  and  of  philosophy 
is  required.  By  a  combination  of  testimony  derived  from  these  sources 
M.  de  Candolle  has  been  enabled  to  determine  the  botanical  origin 
and  geographical  source  of  the  large  proportion  of  species  he  deals 
with." — The  AthencEiim. 


D.  APPLE  TON  AND  COMPANY,  NEW  YORK. 


BOOKS   ON   BOTANY. 


A  Study  of  Leaves. 

By  Mary  B.  Dennis.  Small  4to.  In  colors.  Paper, 
50  cents. 

The  first  laudable  effort  to  popularize  a  science  the  technical  terminolo^ 
of  which  forms  perhaps  the  chief  obstacle  to  its  wide  diffusion.  It  shorthands 
botany. 

The  Geological  History  of  Plants. 

By  Sir  J.  William  Dawson,  F.R.S.  Illustrated. 
i2mo.     Cloth,  $1.75. 

The  object  of  this  work  is  to  give,  in  a  connected  form,  a  summary  of  the 
development  of  the  vegetable  kingdom  in  geological  time.  To  the  geologist 
and  botanist  the  subject  is  one  of  importance  with  reference  to  their  special 
pursuits,  and  one  on  which  it  has  not  been  easy  to  find  any  convenient  manual 
of  information.  It  is  hoped  that  its  treatment  in  the  present  volume  will  also 
be  found  sufficiently  simple  and  popular  to  be  attractive  to  the  general  reader. 

Botany. 

A  Concise  Manual  for  Students  of  Medicine  and  Science. 
By  Alexander  Johnstone,  F.G.S.     i2mo.     Cloth,  $1.75. 

This  work  is  an  attempt  to  construct  a  useful  text-book  for  learners  who 
are,  or  who  have  been,  members  of  a  class  in  botany. 

Fungi :  Their  Nature  and  Uses. 

By  M.  C.  Cooke.  Edited  by  the  Rev.  M.  J.  Berkeley. 
i2mo.     Cloth,  $1.50. 

Handbook  of  Tree-Planting;  or,  Why  to  Plant, 
What  to  Plant,  How  to  Plant. 

By  Nathaniel  H.  Egleston,  late  Chief  of  Forestry 
Division,  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington.  i6mo. 
Cloth,  75  cents. 


D.     APPLETON     AND     COMPANY,     NEW     YORK. 


POPULAR   BOTANY. 


The  Folk-Lore  of  Plants. 

By  T.  F.  Thiselton  Dyer,  M.A.     i2mo.     Cloth,  $1.50. 

A  useful  handbook  for  those  desirous  of  gaining  some  information, 
in  a  brief,  concise  form,  of  the  folk-lore  of  the  vegetable  kingdom. 

"A  handsome  and  deeply  interesting  volume.  ...  In  all  respects 
the  book  is  excellent.  Its  arrangement  is  simple  and  intelligible,  its 
style  bright  and  alluring.  .  .  .  To  all  who  seek  an  introduction  to 
one  of  the  most  attractive  branches  of  folk-lore,  this  delightful  volume 
may  be  warmly  commended." — Notes  and  Queries. 

Flowers  and  Their  Pedigrees. 

By  Grant  Allen.     Illustrated.     i2mo.     Cloth,  $1.50. 

These  essays  deal  with  the  evolution  of  certain  plant  types  in  gen- 
eral, and  the  causes  of  their  existence  in  restricted  localities. 

"  No  writer  treats  scientific  subjects  with  so  much  ease  and  charm  of 
style  as  Mr.  Grant  Allen.  The  study  is  a  delightful  one,  and  the  book  is 
fascinating  to  anyone  who  has  either  love  for  flowers  or  curiosity  about 
them." — Hartford  Cotirant. 

"  Anyone  with  even  a  smattering  of  botanical  knowledge,  and  with 
either  a  heart  or  mind,  must  be  charmed  with  this  collection  of  essays." 
— Chicago  Evening  Jotirnal. 


The  Story  of  the  Plants. 

By  Grant  Allen.     With  Many  Illustrations.     i6mo. 
Cloth,  35  cents  net;  postage,  4  cents  additional. 

A  short  and  succinct  account  of  the  principal  phenomena  of  plant  life, 
in  language  suited  to  the  comprehension  of  unscientific  readers. 

D.      APPLETON       AND      COMPANY,      NEW      YORK. 


V 


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